Fade Into the Background
by xxTheRainWillFallxx
Summary: What are you supposed to do when a mistake costs you the love of your life? And what does it mean when another mistake brings you back to that person, but never in ways you'd imagine? You've done the deed and now you just have to live with the consequences. But is there any way those consequences can relieve the pain from the mistakes and for you to be happy again? TxG some KxG
1. Introduction

**New Story! Sucky summary, but I promise when you read the intro, you'll love it more than when reading the summary. The inspiration for the story comes from a song by Ne-Yo off his album Year Of The Gentleman, the story is named after it so Fade Into the Background is the song. So honestly, I would recommend looking it up and listening to it while you read the introduction because well, that's how I pretty much wrote it. I also don't own Ne-Yo or the song although if I did, I'd be making serious bank.**

** Oh and question, how would you guys feel about me posting 2 stories at once? Would it be too much to follow? I've got 2 stories I want to post cuz I'm almost done with both and I enjoy writing them, so I wouldn't mind as long as you guys are down for it. Review and let me know (: Sorry in advance for any errors, I'm terrible at proof reading.**

* * *

_**A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.**_

_**-George Bernard Shaw**_

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Fade Into the Background

Introduction

_Troy bit his lip as he pulled his car into a parking space in the church's parking lot. He put the car in park and turned to watch the people gathered, walking in the church together. They were all here for one reason and one reason only. All of these people were here to watch a happy couple be united in matrimony. And Troy wasn't sure what the hell he was doing here._

_He took his keys from the ignition, opening the door and stepping out with a sigh. He glanced around at all the people, a few looking his way momentarily, trying to place him. He hesitantly locked his car before jamming the keys down into the pocket of his suit jacket, before strolling towards the church door._

_At the door, he was met with a smiling man in a white suit. It took him a few seconds to realize exactly who it was, but even after, he wasn't too concerned with the usher but more with the main two people this gathering was about._

"_Troy," the usher sighed, running a hand over his face. "What are you doing here man?"_

_Troy shrugged, looking into the church with his hands swiftly tucked into his pocket. "She invited me."_

_The usher with the big bushy hair eyed him carefully. "Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_Troy quickly scanned the church and turned back to his friend. "I'm fine. I should at least make sure she's happy._

_Chad Danforth nodded, jerking his head to the left side of the church. "Anywhere on the bride's side man."_

"_Thanks."_

_As Troy made his way down the aisle covered in a sparkly white cloth, he had to control his breathing, seeing all the faces of the family of the woman he'd grown to know so well. A few looked at him as he found his way to his seat, some giving him looks of sympathy as he went, but he wasn't worried about what anyone was saying about him at this point._

_He took his seat behind the young woman that had a striking resemblance to the bride that would be coming down that aisle soon enough. The woman turned around quietly and gave him a polite smile._

"_Hi, Troy."_

_He nodded curtly at her, too overwhelmed to really say anything. Now he was really wondering why he had come here._

"_She'll be glad that you came, you know."_

_He nodded again, his eyes drifting to the altar at the man that was standing in his tux next to the priest, a huge smile on his face. A smile that should have been his._

_But it wasn't him standing at that altar. It wasn't him with the huge smile on his face. He wasn't the one that had something to look forward to. He wasn't going home with someone else at the end of this day. He wouldn't have anyone bearing his last name. His family wasn't sitting opposite hers on the other side. This wasn't his day, but it was hers. She was moving on without him._

_But that's what he wanted her to do right? He had to expect that eventually she would. She wasn't going to sit around and wait for him to come around forever. Part of him had wanted her too, but the other part of him knew he was being selfish. He should be happy for her. He was trying to be happy for her. But trying was nowhere near definitely._

_The church got awfully quiet in the next few minutes. Everyone had taken their seats and all heads had already turned to face the back of the church as the traditional music had started up from the guy playing the organ at the right. _

_Taking a deep breath, Troy turned his head to join everyone else's, both regretful and breathtaking by his view._

_She looked so good standing at the far end in her flowing white dress. The veil covering her face and the man he'd been so scared of from the start holding on to her arm. He could just make out the tears that stained her cheeks as she moved down the aisle. It seemed as if time was going in slow motion when her eyes looked over to connect with his momentarily and she sent him a shy smile. _

_Troy sat frozen. He couldn't do this. He shouldn't be here. As soon as she reached the top of the aisle and stood by the man she was soon to be married to, Troy slid his way past the others in the aisle and stepped out of the church. He definitely needed some time to breathe before he went back in there; if he went back in there._

_*FIB* *FIB*_

_Shortly after Troy's breather, the wedding party made its way out of the church, all gathering outside to take pictures and then head off to the reception area._

_Troy stood off to the side as he watched her walk through the crowd, her new husband on her arm as they greeted their guests together. He tried to make himself shrink away as she got closer, but he didn't have the balls to, so instead he was just standing there looking at the ground as she reached him and realized who she was standing in front of._

_She gently touched his hand, bringing his head up to look at her. He felt his heart stop beating as gave him a soft smile and mouthed a quiet thank you to him to which he nodded in understanding. He looked over at her soul mate and he noticed the guy watching their interaction before he gave Troy a nod and a polite smile._

_He tried to keep himself together as they quickly moved away to another couple standing near him. He pushed his way away from the crowd and toward his car, getting ready to follow the rest of the party to the reception hall._

_When he got there, he quietly took his seat, not really acknowledging or making an effort to talk anyone around him. He glanced around, nodding slightly at everyone that looked his way or smiled at him._

_He sat and watched the activities that took place, with a stone in his chest. He knew that if he hadn't screwed up, that would have been him. He looked down at the alcohol in his glass, swishing it around slightly before glancing back over at the bride and groom, happily taking pictures with their family. Troy then drank the rest of what was in his glass in gulp and then picked up the bottle off the table, heading out the reception hall, ignoring the looks he was getting from the people that had just stared after him._

_There was however, one person who took note of Troy's leaving and decided to follow behind him, excusing herself from the people around her and running after him despite the protests she received. She grabbed the hem of her dress to make sure she didn't trip over it as she stepped outside into the brisk evening air, looking frantically around for the head of chestnut brown hair she'd grown so used to._

_She spotted him a few yards away, standing in the sand that made up the beach that was surrounding the reception hall. He was holding the bottle he'd grabbed off the table, holding it upside down as he swiftly chugged it without a second thought. The woman's shoes were soon shed on the concrete as she stepped into the sand barefoot and still holding her dress up to keep it away from the sand. She slowly crept up behind him, pretty confident that he already knew she was there. As she got closer, he turned his head sideways and she caught a glimpse of his eyes that the moon reflected itself off of, showing the glassy look that settled in them._

"_Troy," she spoke softly to him for the first time in over a year. The last time they'd been together alone, he'd admitted to not wanting to disappoint her anymore and she fought back tears at the prospect of understanding what he was really saying to her. "I….I'm glad you came."_

_He sighed, feeling a little bit of a buzz from the alcohol and a rush of emotions. "Why? So you could flaunt your new life in my face."_

_Gabriella Montez-Adams stared at the back of her former lovers head as he didn't turn to face her. "Don't be like this," she pleaded._

"_Be like what Gabriella?" He snapped turning around to face her and letting her see just how red his face was. "Be jealous? Hurt? Angry? I can't help it! The woman I love just got married to another man; I can't exactly be the fucking happiest person on that planet right now."_

_She shook her head. "You make it seem like it's my fault. I wasn't the one who said they didn't want to be together anymore. I wasn't the one that barely came home every night. I wasn't the one that questioned the love for his girlfriend. You were. You brought this on yourself, when you could have simply avoided it."_

"_Well it's too late now isn't it," he questioned, looking up into the night sky as he took another drink from the bottle._

_She bit her lip as the tears spilled down her face. "Troy I loved you, and to be completely honestly I still do. I don't think I'll ever stop but I couldn't…I couldn't cry myself to sleep over you every night anymore. I had to move on…"_

"_And I'm happy you did," he interrupted. "You don't need me."_

"_I love you!" She screamed at him. "I'm never going to get over that, don't you get it!? Even married to Kevin, I can't stop the feelings I have for you. Even though you couldn't commit, it doesn't affect how I feel for you."_

_Troy swallowed, a moment of silence. "You should go back inside. It's pretty cold out here and you're not covered up properly."_

_She shook her head, the tears still spilling down her face at a rapid pace, making her happy that her mother had suggested waterproof makeup. "Do you see what I mean? We're standing here, me newly married, and you not having me and the only thing you're worried about is me being cold. These are the reasons I fell in love with you Troy."_

_He looked over at her, taking in her tear stained cheeks. "Now you love Kevin."_

"_I do, but there's still you."_

"_But you don't have me Gabriella. And mostly importantly I don't have you! That's what hurts me the most, knowing I had you and I let you slip through my fingers and I think about it every day. I swear if I could just go back, I would have never doubted myself, never doubted us. But I didn't want to hurt you so I tried to save you from myself and I hurt you anyway. I didn't want to hurt you later, so I hurt you sooner."_

_She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the chill of the night. "Why were you so scared of hurting me? You loved me and that was all that mattered."_

_He shook his head, looking into her eyes. "I wasn't used to it. I wasn't used to having one woman in my life and loving her so much like I did you. I was afraid I was going to be unfaithful to you and hurt you like I've hurt so many, so I tried to spare you."_

_Gabriella choked on her sobs as she listened to Troy._

"_I figured if I stopped us before we got too attached, I wouldn't have the time to hurt you too bad."_

"_But you were wrong. We'd already gotten attached. We'd already said I love you. How did you figure I wouldn't be hurt after that?"_

"_I don't know," he cried. "I just know I was scared. I've never told a woman I loved her before and meant it and saying it to you….I scared myself and I had to stop before I fell too deep."_

_Her small fingers wiped the tears that were falling rapidly. "And what about now?"_

"_Obviously I screwed up. I miss you and I want you to be mine, but I can't have that."_

_She took in his figure as he looked back at her. "You came to make sure I was happy. You want closure," she stated, already knowing and feeling that she herself would have done the same. "I love you Troy Bolton and that's never going to change. I'm married and we can't be together but…I want one last night with you."_

_Troy looked down at her, not believing the words that had come from her mouth._

"_No," he protested. "As much as I want to, I'm not going to let you cheat on Kevin."_

"_Troy please. One last time. I need this and I know you do too, please?"_

_Without hesitation this time, Troy's hands found Gabriella hips covered in the white material, grabbing onto them and pulling her flush again his body and pressing their lips together. Gabriella kissed back furiously, her hands moving to his suit jacket as she pushed it off his shoulders ripping the tie off after and then went to work on his dress shirt, un-tucking it and staring to unbutton it from the bottom up. Once she finished on his upper half, she went to unbuckle the belt on his pants and he pulled away to gaze at her. He took in her beauty, the plumpness of her lips, the lust in her eyes, and the longing in her face and he decided that this was what he wanted. If he could never have her again, he was at least going to have her one last time. As she worked on getting his pants off, he swiftly moved his hand behind her to unzip the wedding gown and free her of it. Before long, both of their clothes were thrown in the sand as they had their one last moment of love in that same sand, not caring about anything else but the other. Forgetting that they no longer belonged to the other and that Gabriella now had another man that was to love her, they made love to each other, never wanting the moment to end as they were joined as lovers once again in the air of the night._


	2. Chapter 1

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_Forgetting that they no longer belonged to the other and that Gabriella now had another man that was to love her, they made love to each other, never wanting the moment to end as they were joined as lovers once again in the air of the night._

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_**A baby is God's opinion that life should go on.**_

_**-Carl Sandburg**_

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Chapter 1

_4 months later_

"Gabriella!"

The young woman turned at the sound of her name coming from the blonde's mouth.

"Yes, Sharpay?"

"I need your help over here, please!"

Gabriella sighed, standing up to go over to help her best friend in the opening of her and her boyfriend's restaurant. "What do you need me to do?"

"Um," she watched Sharpay scan the restaurant in progress for something that needed to be finished before she finally spotted something. "Do you mind hanging those curtains over there?"

Gabriella just nodded and went over to work on hanging the curtains while Sharpay continued to run around, yelling at the workers that were also helping set up.

"Don't put that there! Are you stupid? It clashes with the counter!"

Gabi giggled at the sound of her friends voice and just shook her head as she pulled the chair over to the window to hang the curtain, but stopped as a voice called out when she stepped on the chair.

"Gabriella, get off that chair!" Zeke Baylor exclaimed as he walked in the restaurant Chad and Jason trailing behind him, all three of them carrying boxes. "You two know very well Gabriella shouldn't be up on the chair," he scolded both of them while putting down the box he had and helping the brunette off the chair.

Gabriella thanked Zeke as she stood on the solid ground and pulled her shirt down over her growing tummy, before walking over to one of the stools and taking a seat.

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "She's pregnant not handicapped. She's not incapable of hanging curtains."

"And what if she would have fallen off the chair?"

"Zeke," Gabriella spoke up, hoping to avoid an argument between the couple. They'd already been stressed out enough with the opening of their restaurant, they didn't need unnecessary drama. "I didn't mind hanging the curtains, I was fine."

"Yeah, well I'm sure Kevin would have minded if you hurt yourself and the baby."

Gabriella sighed at his statement. She hated when people talked about Kevin and assumed that the baby was his. Of course most people should assume that the baby a woman is carrying is her husbands, but in Gabriella's case, it wasn't. There wasn't even a question who the father of her baby was, and she knew without a doubt that it wasn't Kevin's, but she wasn't about to tell him that. They were only 4 months into their marriage and she couldn't screw it up.

"Okay fine!" She gave up. "I swear having you around is killing my sneaky vibe. I can't do anything without you threatening to tell Kevin."

Zeke smiled, giving Gabriella a side hug as he passed her on the way to the kitchen. "Just looking out Gabs."

"Mhmm, well go blind!" She yelled after him, getting a laugh from him and the boys in reply.

Shortly after, Zeke had gotten busy fixing up the rest of the kitchen and Sharpay had called Jason to come help her in doing the decorations, so it left Gabriella and Chad alone by the front counter, giving Gabriella the opportunity to ask the question she'd been dying to.

"How's Troy?" she asked, turning to their mutual friend, hoping he'd give her an answer that she'd like.

Chad shrugged, sitting down next to her. "He's alright. He's becoming…stiff. He does the same thing every day; work, visits me for a daily update on you, and then home for the night. He hasn't been on a date since I forced him almost 10 months ago."

Gabriella sat, trying to decide if Troy's single-ness was a good or bad thing. "So he's just the same?"

"Pretty much, but Gabs I don't think he's going to make any progress anytime soon. Maybe the best thing for him right now would be for you to tell him…"

"Are you crazy? I can't possibly tell him that. I'm married to another man!"

"And whose fault is that?" Chad challenged her. "You two are the ones who didn't think to use protection."

"It was one night Chad!" she tried to defend. "I didn't think it would make a difference."

"Well obviously, one night was all it took," he motioned to her stomach. "And it led you to cheat on Kevin so it did make a difference. I mean it's Troy's baby you're having not Kevin's and you don't see a problem in that?"

Gabriella shook her head. "I never said what I did was right and I don't need the lecture. Just like I don't need to tell the truth. If I tell Troy or Kevin the truth about this baby, then my marriage is officially over."

Chad shrugged. "You don't know that. Kevin's pretty forgiving."

"Sure Chad, would you like to be there when I tell him I slept with my ex on our wedding night and that the baby his wife is having is not his?!"

Chad sighed. "Look Gabs, I'm not telling you what to do, just suggesting. If you keep lying, eventually the truth will come out and it won't be pretty."

Chad stood up to go see if Zeke needed any help and Gabriella sat, watching him go, knowing very well that he was right, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. She didn't have the guts to tell the truth yet, so right now she just had to live with her lie.

_*FIB* *FIB*_

"_Troy, why don't you come home and visit?"_

"Ma, listen, now's just not the time okay? I'm dealing with a lot."

"_Like what? Work? Take some time off. Your job can't be that much more important than your family."_

"I just….can't take off like that."

"_Troy, if you think I'm going to hassle you again, then I won't. As long as you come out here, I won't say a thing about her."_

Troy sighed. "Ma, this is not about Gabriella. I just don't have the time right now."

"_I don't see why not. It's not like you have another girl that needs your attention anymore. Unless you've found someone else…"_

"No, there is no one else. I just need some time."

"_You can have all the time you want if you were here."_

"I know, but I want to be home right now. My home, my apartment."

"_Dwelling over it isn't going to help you get over her. I liked her a lot too, but you have to learn to let go…"_

"I loved her, Mom! I still do and that's not going to change. I don't care if she's with another man, I just can't…"

"_You have to move on, sweetheart. And I think coming up here for a week or two will help you do that."_

Troy sighed, once again, a hand running frustrated through his hair. "I'll think about it okay."

"_That's all I ask. Thank you for calling, I enjoy hearing from you every so often. I worry about my baby boy."_

"And I'm fine Ma." Troy turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Chad walk in, takeout bags in hand.

"_Good, now call me again soon, or I'll have to come up there to check on you in person."_

Troy chuckled. "I promise."

"_I love you, Troy."_

"Love you too Ma, tell Dad I said lay off the snacks too."

"_I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Take care, honey."_

"Bye Mom." Troy hung up and focused his attention on his friend. "Hey man, what's up."

"Just came back from the restaurant," Chad shrugged. "It's really coming along. You should come down and help some time."

Troy shrugged. "You know I would, but I don't want any awkwardness between me and…"

"He's never there during the week. He works until 6. Gabi does come out though. Shar usually picks her up on her way there and the two of them spend the whole day there. She heads home with Kevin around 6:30."

"I still don't know. I haven't seen Gabriella since the wedding and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet."

"I'm sure she'd want to see you…"

"Wouldn't bet on that."

"I'm serious Troy. You know she asks about you every time I see her."

"Don't try to make me feel better Chad…"

"Troy! Pull your head out of your ass already! She still loves you. She wouldn't ask about you if she didn't care. She wants to make sure you're not close to hurting yourself or doing something stupid or sitting in depression."

Troy flopped down on the couch, resting his head back as he listened to Chad.

"She always asks if you're dating. And every time I tell her no, she tries not to let it show, but I can tell a part of her is happy. If you would just talk to her face to face, maybe things could be different."

Troy shook his head. "You're forgetting she's married right?"

"That doesn't mean you can't tell her or show her how you feel."

"I already did that remember. We had one last night together and after that…I mean we haven't seen in each other in 4 months. I wouldn't know what to say to her."

Chad smiled. "How about you get up off your lazy ass and start by telling her you still feel the way you felt about her before and that your feelings haven't changed."

Troy shrugged. "Maybe I will, but one thing at a time," he replied, getting up from the couch and heading to the back. "I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed; you know how to let yourself out."

Chad stood in the living room as he watched his naïve best friend walk away, no hope what-so-ever about his former love. And he couldn't help but think about how much advice he'd given to his two friends in love and how insightful he had seemed and yet it seemed like neither one of them wanted to listen. He shook his head before grabbing an apple of the counter and leading himself out, knowing that maybe he could try again and be successful another day.

* * *

**I'm a terrible person again, I know.**

** I was actually sick the week after I posted the intro and then the week after that, I was on spring break and then, this week leading into next week I have a busy busy schedule ahead with prom and a show I'm doing with my school's theatre department. My next free night off (other than tonight) is Monday April 22nd so stick with me here until the last week this month. I'll try to do some posting in between when I can, but I haven't gotten the chance to write in a while and I don't want to post all the chapters and I'm not even done writing the story yet, because that will just cause an even further delay. **

**Thanks for understanding and I hope you enjoyed this chapter though and of course there will be more to come!**

**~Crystal**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sorry in advance for any spelling errors. I know it took a while, but I am seriously getting so behind in everything. My reading and writing and of course school work comes first. I literally have 4 days of school left so just hang in there with me for a little longer.**

* * *

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_Sharpay rolled her eyes. "She's pregnant not handicapped. She's not incapable of hanging curtains."_

**xx**

_Maybe the best thing for him right now would be for you to tell him…"_

"_Are you crazy? I can't possibly tell him that. I'm married to another man!"_

"_And whose fault is that?" Chad challenged her. "You two are the ones who didn't think to use protection."_

**xx**

"_I still don't know. I haven't seen Gabriella since the wedding and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet."_

"_I'm sure she'd want to see you…"_

"_Wouldn't bet on that."_

"_I'm serious Troy. You know she asks about you every time I see her."_

* * *

_**A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.**_

_**-Charles Darwin**_

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Chapter 2

Gabriella walked into her home from work, sighing loudly as she dropped her purse and keys on the front table. She bent down to gently slip her heels off her feet and set them next to the steps before making her way up them to her bedroom. On the way, she noticed the closed door that was 2 doors down from her bedroom and grew curious. She slowly walked over to the door, turning the knob and pushing it open to find her husband sitting on the floor of the newly carpeted room messing with something he had obviously just bought. There were directions strewn across the floor along with a box and wooden pieces that Gabriella could glance at and kind of figure out what it was.

"Babe?" she asked, pushing hair back behind her ear as she unbuttoned her pant suit jacket to reveal the white shirt she had worn underneath. "What are you doing…or trying to do?"

Kevin sighed and dropped the wood he was trying to piece together. "I was trying to put this stupid crib together, but I don't think I'm doing very well."

Gabriella glanced once again around the room before dropping her jacket and sitting beside Kevin. "You don't have to do that."

Kevin shrugged. "We only have 5 months left. If I don't do it, no one else will."

Gabriella bit her lip, feeling guilty. She knew very well that it was wrong to let Kevin get so excited about a baby that wasn't even his and she regretted ever cheating on him without using protection, but she knew she had to live with the consequences now. Her only worry now was telling him and his reaction to the news.

"You still didn't have to do it," she told him softly.

He looked over at her, his eyes boring into her soul. "I wanted to baby, don't worry about it," he smiled, reaching over to touch her semi-rounded stomach. "This is our baby and I'm excited and I want to do everything I can to help with the pregnancy and my child."

The guilt on her chest seemed to grow heavier and heavier with his words. How exactly was she ever going to tell him the truth about the baby with all the sweet stuff he was saying? The debate of telling him now came back to her head, but she knew he would figure it out sooner or later after the baby was born, so it would be best for her to tell him now.

"Kevin, I think we should talk about the baby," Gabi started slowly, her hand moving down to rest on his leg.

He leaned closer, pressing a light kiss to her lips. "What about the baby?"

"I just want you to know that…this baby…." She broke off, seeing his expectant face that led her to start tearing up at the thought of having to hurt him.

"What?"

"This baby is…..the best gift ever," she chickened out at the last minute. "I'm happy that I'm pregnant and that I'm having this baby with you."

And there was the lie. Gabriella knew good and well that as much as she loved Kevin, she was a tiny bit glad the baby wasn't his. After that one night with Troy that led her to this, she was glad that it was the baby of her former lover. It gave her a sense of still possibly belonging to him, whereas if she was having Kevin's baby, she would feel so bad about still being so madly in love with Troy. And as much as she wanted to admit that to Troy, especially after her wedding night, she couldn't give in so easily. He had given her up, if she remembered, and she wasn't going to run back to him as fast as she wanted to, although that was the only thing she wanted to do.

Kevin grinned and pulled Gabriella onto his lap. "I'm happy that we're having a baby too. It is the best gift ever, besides the fact that you're my wife. I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered, wondering if she would ever be able to say it to him and mean it again.

_*FIB* *FIB*_

"Gabriella?"

"Mhmm?"

"When was the last time you spoke to Troy?"

Gabriella stopped typing on her laptop and looked up at Taylor questioningly. "What?"

"When did you last speak to Troy? 'Because he was at your wedding you know? Chad told me he saw him while ushering."

She swallowed, watching Taylor who was sitting on the couch in Gabriella's office, going over some of her papers while she worked on a case. Working at the same law firm had really worked out for the both of them. "Yeah, uh Chad told me he was there. So did Anisah."

Taylor nodded. "I was just wondering. You never talk about him anymore, but considering that you're married I figure that's a good thing, right?"

Gabriella nodded. "Yeah, well, I had to get over him sometime."

She pushed her papers aside on the couch and pulled her feet out from under her, standing up and walking over to Gabriella's desk. "I'm glad you did. I kind of didn't think you ever would."

"Why'd you think that?"

"Because you and Troy were like….connected at the hip," Taylor giggled, but Gabriella didn't seem to think it was too funny.

"Well, I was in love with him…"

Taylor nodded. "I know and I understand that, but after he left you...you were so heartbroken and he didn't deserve you crying over him every night…"

"What I choose to do is my business."

"Gabs, I'm just saying. I'm ecstatic that you finally found a man to make you happy and won't break your heart. One that is most likely the one and deserves to have your love. And now you're starting a family with him. Your life is perfect right now."

"Far from it," Gabriella replied, continuing to type up her report on the case.

Taylor shrugged. "Well to tell the honest truth, even though Troy and Chad are best friends, I never really liked him much anyway, not for you. Kevin is the best and we all see how happy you are with him, so I'm hoping things last in the long run for you two."

Gabriella sighed as Taylor picked up her papers from the couch and slid her flats back on her feet. "I'll see you at the restaurant later."

"Of course," she nodded, forcing a smile as Taylor walked out, but really wanting to yell at her friend about how much she was wrong. How she wasn't happy with Kevin, at least not happier than she had been with Troy. She just wanted to scream out loud that she was still in love with Troy as she was 2 years ago, and 9 months ago and 4 months ago and how she was more than excited to be having his baby, but she wasn't ready to risk telling all, not yet.

_*FIB* *FIB*_

Troy sat in his office at the local high school, a cup of coffee on the desk in front of him as he leant forward on the desk, head in his hands. He had come to take a break from the stress that was his life and even on his break his mind seemed to revolve around that one person: Gabriella.

He hadn't seen her since her wedding night, but he could never get his mind off her even when he tried hard. Obviously it was never hard enough. It killed that even during his break, his only free time at work; he couldn't stop the thoughts of her from constantly taking up every part of his brain and body.

There was a knock on the door and Troy looked up to see Chad walking in, a white greasy bag in his hand. "Hey, Bolton, lady at the front desk told me you didn't have a class right now, so I figured this would be the perfect time for the lunch I had in mind."

Troy moved, making room for Chad to pull up a chair as he leant back in his own. "Thanks Chad, but I'm not hungry."

Chad's eyes narrowed as he sent Troy a look. "Bolton, don't tell me I came all the way here with lunch, paid for it myself and everything, just for you to tell me you're not hungry. Bullshit. What's the real reason?"

Troy's eyes widened. "Chill out Chad. I'm serious, I'm just not hungry."

Chad watched his friend for a moment. "Are you sure that's all?"

Troy nodded. "I'm pretty sure."

"So this is not at all about Gabi?"

Troy sighed, getting up from his desk, cup in hand and walking over to the small coffee maker in the corner of his office."I really wish you would stop asking me the same fucking question all the time Chad. I was fine until you mentioned it you know?"

Chad rolled his eyes. "No you weren't, because it is about Gabs, it's always been about her.

"And it always will be Chad!" Troy snapped, turning to face his friend. "I'm glad you're able to somewhat understand that, now will you please stop fucking talking about it!?"

Chad nodded, closing his mouth as he opened it prepared to say something. "I'm sorry man."

Troy shook his head. "It's fine; it's not your fault. It just hurts still, more than I thought it actually would."

"You expected it not to hurt?"

"Not as much. I mean I know I told her to move on, but I didn't actually think she would get married and I would be sitting here wanting her back so much. And I know it was my fault anyway, but a part of me wishes I could rewind time and do it differently."

"Why does it bother you so much?"

"Because I still love her. Because I was it was me with her every morning and every night again. Because it feels weird watching her live her life and me still here thinking about things were and living too far back in the past while she's so far into the future."

Chad nodded. "Well now that you know what you want exactly, all you have to do is go fight for it."

"Try and get her back? It's not gonna happen Chad, don't even say that…"

"You never know. I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I have reason to believe if you really give her a good reason, things could be the way they were again."

"A good reason?"

Chad nodded. "You know what I'm talking about."

Troy sighed, glancing at the clock. "Hmm, I've got a class in 5. Thanks for the food Chad, just put it in the fridge please. I'll call you later."

"You owe me Troy!" Chad called as his friend put the mug he had been drinking from back on the desk and walked out of the room, clipboard and whistle in hand. "Teachers," he said with a smile while shaking his head.

* * *

**Don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 3

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_I just want you to know that…this baby…." She broke off, seeing his expectant face that led her to start tearing up at the thought of having to hurt him._

"_What?"_

"_This baby is…..the best gift ever," she chickened out at the last minute. "I'm happy that I'm pregnant and that I'm having this baby with you." _

**xx**

_Taylor shrugged. "Well to tell the honest truth, even though Troy and Chad are best friends, I never really liked him much anyway, not for you. Kevin is the best and we all see how happy you are with him, so I'm hoping things last in the long run for you two."_

_She wasn't happy with Kevin, at least not happier than she had been with Troy. She just wanted to scream out loud that she was still in love with Troy as she was 2 years ago, and 9 months ago and 4 months ago and how she was more than excited to be having his baby, but she wasn't ready to risk telling all, not yet._

* * *

_**All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.**_

_**-Ralph Waldo Emerson**_

* * *

Chapter 3

Gabriella got up from her comfy office chair to head over to her file cabinet just as Sandra knocked on the open office door.

"Mrs. Adams, you have a visitor downstairs. He says he's a friend of yours."

Gabriella smiled at Sandra and nodded before going back to the file cabinet, figuring it was probably Chad or Zeke coming for a visit. They had taken to doing that every so often since she had first announced her pregnancy.

She shuffled through her files, looking for that one particular case file as she heard another knock on the door.

"Hey," she said. "Sorry I really need to find this file to look over it again."

The person cleared their throat. "It's okay. It's actually pretty nice to see you Gabriella."

Gabi stopped going through her file cabinet and turned her head slightly, recognizing the voice, to see Troy standing in her office doorway with flowers.

"Troy," she removed her hand from the file drawer and closed it slightly, her hand resting on her slightly rounded stomach through her loose fitting shirt that covered her pregnancy a bit more than usual, but not completely. "I…hi? What are you doing here?"

"Uhhh, well Chad convinced me to come here. I just…I needed to see you."

Gabriella moved away from her file cabinet and closer to her desk, taking in Troy's appearance. He didn't look like he was going to work, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, topped with a sweatshirt and sneakers. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

He shrugged. "I took the day off to come see you. Call me crazy, I just…wanted to make things right between us."

"Make things…right?"

He nodded. "After...uh, your wedding, we kind of just left things and I feel like we messed up somewhere."

Gabriella bit her lip, confused. "I thought that's what you wanted? One more night; one last time?"

Troy closed his eyes at her words, knowing they were true. "You said that. And I agreed."

Gabriella scoffed and felt herself becoming slightly angry with the man standing in front of her. "You don't get to play with my head Troy. You gave up the fight for me remember? And I gave you 4 months ago, but we promised after that we were done. I can't….I can't keep thinking about you, or what would have happened. I've moved on, but every time you come back, you make me question everything I've come to know and I can't keep that up."

Troy held up his hands, the flowers still gripped in his palm. "Look, Gabriella, I know that things have been completely fucked up between us, but I changed my mind…"

"You changed your mind? You can't keep changing your mind, Troy! This is not a game!" As she felt herself becoming even angrier, she took deep breaths and rubbed her stomach to somewhat cool herself down, but Troy noticed this and brought his attention to really look her over.

His eyes scanned over her brown and beige top, her black pants and black suede heels. An off-white jacket sat draped across the back of her office chair, her black bag sitting on the desk next to some papers. Her makeup and hair were done just right and her nails looked freshly done, although he'd always think she looks perfect no matter what she wore, or how she looked. It took him a while to really comprehend the stressed out look over-taking her face and the swollen roundness of where her hand was softly caressing. When he did, it finally knocked the wind out of him.

"You're pregnant?"

_*FIB* *FIB*_

"Chad Anthony Danforth! Where the hell are you?" Gabriella asked, storming into Chad and Taylor's apartment later that afternoon.

Chad rushed out of his bedroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, wet ringlets of curls hanging down around his face as he looked at his female best friend with complete worry. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Your best friend is what the fuck is going on!" She stopped, taking in his appearance and then closing her eyes. "Why are you not wearing clothes?"

A sigh of relief came through Chad's throat as he shrugged. "You came in here yelling, so I freaked out, thinking someone was seriously wrong. Excuse me for not having time to get clothes. Give me a minute," he said dashing back into the bedroom as Gabriella sat down at one of the barstools.

"Something is very serious here Chad. Troy stopped by my office today."

"He did what? Really?" Chad called back from the bedroom as he got dressed.

"Yeah, and imagine my surprise to see my ex-fiancé and father of my child just show up out of nowhere," she added sarcastically. "Such fun, don't you think."

Chad came out into the kitchen with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. "Are you being serious right now?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Why would I lie about that? This isn't some silly game to me."

"And it isn't to me," Chad defended. "I just can't believe he listened to me…"

Gabriella's face scrunched up in confusion before quickly changing to one of accusation. "Listen to you? You told him to come see me?!"

As she quickly stood up, one hand to her stomach and the other pointing a finger at him, Chad quickly grabbed her wrist and then slowly tried to direct her to sit down again. "DON'T! Chad why would you? How could you? You knew; hell you know how hard this is for me!"

Chad shook his head, trying to calm her down. "Gabs, think about the baby…"

"Danforth, don't give me that crap right now. I want answers!"

He sighed, lifting his hands in defeat. "I just spoke to him when I was visiting for lunch and he was just so depressed and I told him that being all sad about it wasn't going to help and that he should grow some balls and talk to you."

Gabriella groaned, proceeding to drop her head on the kitchen counter. "I should have known."

The chocolate-skinned male moved to sit next to her. "Well, how'd it go? I mean what did he say?"

"I think it was more me lecturing him than anything. We just went back and forth about how 4 months ago was supposed to be it for us."

"So does he know…?"

She shook her head. "He did notice I was pregnant though, I mean it's not like I expected him to not see it, but that's exactly why I've been avoiding seeing him. That and well for other obvious reasons. It just…it was hard seeing him today and not being completely honest with him. I want so bad to just say it, but I have to think about what will happen with him and our child and then there's Kevin."

Chad bit the inside of his lip. "I don't mean to sound unsupportive, but you really should have thought about that 4 months ago."

A whimper escaped from the brunette's mouth as she started to bang her hand lightly on the counter, but Chad stopped her moments later. "C'mon G, it's not that bad."

Gabriella's head shot up to shoot Chad a look, which he instantly understood. "Okay, well maybe it is, but I'm here for you and you know that. I may be both of your friends, but I've got you first and foremost."

"Only because I'm pregnant," she supplied an explanation.

Chad shrugged. "Well yes, but you're typically easier to deal with than hardheaded Bolton. Nothing I say to him gets through. He didn't listen to me a year ago, he didn't listen to me at your wedding and now he chooses to listen. The guy's insane and honestly, I'd much rather deal with pregnancy insane that Bolton insane."

Gabriella smiled, moving to rest her head on his shoulder. "Where did I find you? And what would I do without you?"

He only smiled cockily, wrapping her arms around her shoulder. "I'm so awesome, I don't even have to answer those."

Her giggled filled the empty space of the apartment's kitchen. "Danforth, you are amazing actually. Now if I asked for some of that rocky road ice cream I know you keep stashed in the back of the freezer and you said yes, you'd be even more amazing," she grinned cheekily up at him.

He rolled his eyes, getting up and leading her over to the fridge. "I can't deny you; you hold too much power in your hands for that."

She nodded, with an even wider smile and rubbed her hands across her bump, excited and momentarily forgetting about her current issue and just living in the moment. She would just bask in the temporary happiness before she really had to deal with more of the drama that was her life.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked the chapter. The quote at the beginning of the chapter hits home because I recently tried something that turned out to be a mistake and I'm learning from it the hard way. My mind is definitely not in the right place at this point and I might need some time to myself. So before I disappear completely off the face of the earth, I felt like I atleast owed you guys a chapter. I'm not sure when I'll post the next one so please be patient and understand that I'm going through some things right now.**


	5. Chapter 4

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_The person cleared their throat. "It's okay. It's actually pretty nice to see you Gabriella."_

_Gabi stopped going through her file cabinet and turned her head slightly, recognizing the voice, to see Troy standing in her office doorway with flowers._

"_Troy," she removed her hand from the file drawer and closed it slightly, her hand resting on her slightly rounded stomach through her loose fitting shirt that covered her pregnancy a bit more than usual, but not completely. "I…hi? What are you doing here?"_

**xx**

"_Something is very serious here Chad. Troy stopped by my office today."_

"_He did what? Really?" Chad called back from the bedroom as he got dressed._

"_Yeah, and imagine my surprise to see my ex-fiancé and father of my child just show up out of nowhere," she added sarcastically. "Such fun, don't you think."_

* * *

_**All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.**_

_**-Havelock Ellis**_

* * *

Chapter 4

Troy was pacing his apartment when Chad walked in, shutting the door behind him and staring at the distraught man. "Sit down, Bolton," Chad ordered, rolling his eyes.

Troy turned to face Chad, wide eyed and looking crazy. "She's pregnant?! I mean, is she really?"

Chad nodded. "Yeah."

"And you knew she was? The whole time?"

Chad sighed. "Troy, she didn't want me to tell you…"

"She's having a baby with him? I can't…do you know what this means?"

"It means she's having a baby," his best friend shrugged.

"With Kevin! That means me and her are over."

"You guys have been over, Troy…"

"Yeah but now she's really moved on. She's having a kid with him. Starting a family, a new life."

"Troy…"

"I can't believe how stupid I was! Going over there and she's…she's…"

"Pregnant," Chad supplied. "It's not that hard to say."

Troy sent a glare his way and he immediately put up his hands in innocence. "Sorry, just saying."

"Don't say, please. I just…" his ran his hands over his face and then dropped onto the couch. "She really is moving on."

Chad looked at the distress of his best friend, feeling slightly guilty for knowing what he knew. "Yeah, Troy. That was the point. I wanted you to go see her so that you would know, so that you would understand that this is where you stand and this is what needs to happen. You can't change things anymore."

"I…" Troy sighed and looked over a Chad, his best friend seeing just how vulnerable he was, the tears forming in his eyes. "I guess I was just being naive. I thought that somehow I would have still had a chance. I'm so stupid."

He shook his head. "Dude you're not stupid. You were in love."

Troy breathed out, looking up at the ceiling. "Don't sugarcoat it Chad. I fucked up big time. She gave me so many chances that I took advantage of. I expected her to come back like she had so many times before, but I can't get that anymore."

"It's not the end man..."

"She deserves this," he stated, completely ignoring Chad's last statement. "She deserves him, she deserves to be happy." Troy had choked slightly on his words. "She deserves this baby. It's time to move on. I finally see what she saw; how fucking stupid and selfish I've been all along."

It pulled at Chad's heard, watching his best friend at this moment in time, wishing he could fix this, but it wasn't his job. He had to let nature run its course. If it was meant to be, it would happen.

_*FIB* *FIB*_

"_Troy!" Gabriella giggled as the smiling guy behind her picked her up by the waist and swung her around, soon falling to the warm sand with her laying on top of him._

"_You're so beautiful," he spoke to her, his hands coming up to push away the hair that was flying all over her face in the wind. She had position herself lying flat on top of him with her forearms in the sand under his armpits holding her up while her chin rested on his chest._

"_You just like to make me blush," she returned, biting her lip and looking up into his intense blue eyes._

"_I just want you to know how I feel," he answered, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead._

_She nodded. "Believe me, I know."_

_He glanced down at her, a grin coming upon his face. "Get up for a second, I wanna try something."_

_She raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless, got up, following his instructions. He held his hands out for her to take while he was still lying in the sand, motioning for her to stand in between his slightly raised legs. "What are you doing?"_

_He shook his head. "Babe, do you trust me?"_

_She put on a thoughtful look, leaning down a little closer to his face. "Right now I'm not so sure."_

_He rolled his eyes as she stood back up, keeping their hands connected and intertwined and he gently pressed his bare feet to the bottom of her torso. "Don't move okay?"_

_She nodded, looking down at him with curiosity, yet pure trust as he moved so he was lifting her above him with his feet, their hands together adding extra support._

_She laughed as she floated above him, looking down on the success written on his smiling face. "You're so crazy."_

"_It worked didn't it?"_

_She shook her head with a giggle. "Come on, admit that you like it. This is cool. You're so tiny."_

"_That's the only reason why you can hold me up here."_

"_Or it could be that my feet and arms are incredibly strong." She gave him a look and he sighed. "Or it could just be that you're tiny, but that's a good thing, I like my women small. Especially since you're no taller than 5'2."_

"_Hey!" She moved against him so that his lost his positioning for holding her up and she fell back on top of him with a small thump and his arms wrapped around her and he rolled them over so they were lying side by side on the sand. "You okay?" She asked after pushing hair out of her face once again._

_He nodded. "You're too small to make much of an impact."_

_She smacked his chest as he laughed and tickled her sides in response. She pushed herself closer to him in the sand and pressed her nose to his. "Thank you."_

"_For what?"_

"_For caring about me. For showing me how much you care. For showing me what I mean to you. I could go on and on. It's been a wonderful day."_

_Troy pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. "I...love you."_

_Gabriella felt her heart swell as she tried to keep in the tears that wanted to fall at his sincere words. Her hand came up to play with the hair on the back of his neck, pulling his face back to hers for a passionate kiss as she muttered back, "I love you too."_

"_Perfect guys, just perfect," a voice called out. The two pulled away and turned to see Chad with a camera and the rest of their friends a little bit away under the umbrella they had set up earlier. "Now stop being all seclusive and lovey dovey and come join us. Burgers are ready."_

_Troy groaned as Gabriella stood up and held her hand out to help him. "Way to ruin the moment Chad," he grumbled, brushing sand off himself._

_Gabriella smiled and pressed herself to his chest. "It's okay, we've still got later on," she teased, before pressing a quick kiss to his lips and then skipping away to the rest of the group, turning back to glance at him as he smirked and jogged off behind her._

Gabriella felt herself coming to tears thinking about the past memories she shared with Troy. She was sitting in her home office late at night, finishing off a case when she'd stumbled upon the old picture of her and Troy at the beach that Chad had taken. She wiped away the tears, rubbing her ever growing stomach and desperately wishing she could go back to that moment.

"Babe," Kevin called, the light coming on in the hall as Gabriella turned to see Kevin's frame appear in the doorway, clad in his pajama pants and a wife beater. "Why are you still up?" he questioned, rubbing his eyes as he walked in the room to her.

"I was just finishing up some stuff," she answered, quickly wiping away more tears as she closed out the picture of her and Troy before Kevin reached the desk.

"Sweetheart, you don't need to be up this late. You're nearly 7 months pregnant."

Gabriella sighed, taking in his words. The past 2 ½ months had been an even harder challenge with her pregnancy. She was more emotional and spent a lot more time thinking especially now that she was almost on maternity leave. There was a lot of brand new stress that had been thrown upon her she was having an extremely hard time dealing. That was why her last visit to the doctor's had led her to be told she was officially on maternity leave. At least the good part was she could work from home…well not under Kevin's watch, but whenever he wasn't around. "Kevin, I was just making sure that all this stuff is set for when I'm out. It's not like I'll be able to go into the office and get anything once I'm on leave."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't work at all while you're on leave. That's the point."

Gabriella sighed, shutting down her laptop and getting up from the chair with a bit of struggle, swatting Kevin away when he reached for her to help. "I can get up by myself!" she snapped, semi-waddling out of the room with Kevin close behind her.

"Gabi, don't do that."

"Don't do what?" she called back. "Be pregnant? I'm hormonal, it's going to happen, get over it."

She heard the sigh from him as he followed her to their bedroom, turning off the lights behind him along the way. "Gabriella, I didn't mean to upset you, but now you're just being crazy…"

"Crazy?! Oh baby, you haven't seen crazy."

He groaned, hands on his head and Gabriella stopped to turn at look at him, both of their faces contorting up in confusion as they heard the doorbell ring.

"It's 2am, who could that be?" He asked out loud, moving down the stairs to go get the door, Gabi following him at a slower pace down back down the stairs to the first floor. When Gabriella reached the door, Kevin already had it open and it was a shock to see both her mother and sister in the doorway of her house.

"GABI!" Anisah called out upon seeing her older sister waddle in the entryway.

Gabriella groaned, glancing over at her husband conversating with her mother. This was just what she needed right now…at 2 IN THE MORNING! "Hey guys," came her weak reply as she half-hugged her sister. This was going to be an interesting visit.

* * *

**So I apologize about the last time I updated. If it came out harsh about me not going to update for a while, it wasn't meant to but I just had some tough personal issue that I had to handle before I could even focus on giving my all into writing. And of course I didn't want to give you guys some half-ass job because you deserve to much more. So thank you for being patient and understanding and I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that no one lost interest in the story. **

**Please review, it would very much make my day.**


	6. Chapter 5

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_She's having a baby with him? I can't…do you know what this means?"_

"_It means she's having a baby," his best friend shrugged._

"_With Kevin! That means me and her are over."_

"_You guys have been over, Troy…"_

"_Yeah but now she's really moved on. She's having a kid with him. Starting a family, a new life."_

**xx**

"_GABI!" Anisah called out upon seeing her older sister waddle in the entryway._

_Gabriella groaned, glancing over at her husband conversating with her mother. This was just what she needed right now…at 2 IN THE MORNING! "Hey guys," came her weak reply as she half-hugged her sister. This was going to be an interesting visit._

_**A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of the body – the wishbone.**_

_**-Robert Frost**_

Chapter 5

"So do you guys know what you're having yet?" Anisah asked her sister the next morning as they sat with a cup of coffee for Anisah and tea for Gabriella.

Gabriella nodded, moving one hand to rest on her stomach as she felt a kick. "It's a girl. We figured it would be best to be 100% prepared for her than to be surprised and under attack when she's here."

Her sister nodded. "That's good. How do you feel?"

Gabi shrugged. "I'm over the nausea, but I'm still cramping every so often. I'm not as tired as I was before, but now I'm swollen like everywhere and achy all over as well. Plus I'm pretty sure I get up to pee at least every 7 minutes."

"At least it's 7 and not 5," Anisah tried to joke, making Gabriella roll her eyes.

"Sure. I've had Braxton Hicks contractions as well. I've been told that they don't hurt as much as the actually labor contractions, but these hurt, so I can't imagine what labor will feel like."

"You'll be fine. I know you. But are you at least getting an epidural? I know how you are with pain."

"I want to do it," Gabriella admitted while stirring her tea. "Kevin's against it though, because it's drugs and he hates the concept of it. Since the doctor told him everything I take goes into her system as well, he's been super careful about watching me and what goes in my body. It's so annoying!"

"He's looking out for you, it's sweet," Anisah cooed.

"Sure," Gabi responded with a roll of her eyes. "I'm just really upset that we don't have a name for her yet. We can't even agree on one."

"Mom says that's the hard part."

"I just hate everything he says and he won't even consider my names. He wants something super generic and I wanted something unique. He claims that all the names I pick are weird and I'm trying to convince him they're just different."

"Well what are you thinking?"

She sighed. "I suggested Annalisa Rose."

Anisah scrunched up her face in a no.

"Jade Caprice."

"That's different…"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Caryn Michelle."

Her sister shrugged. "They're all pretty, but none of them are amazing."

"See! I know this, but we still can't seem to agree on anything."

Anisah shrugged once again. "You guys will work it out. Hey, I just thought about it. Why aren't you at work?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Maternity leave."

"Already?"

She nodded. "I'm being forced to take it. I'd rather be a work."

"Are you kidding me? I'd do anything for a day off work and you get the next, what, 5 months?"

"I don't have to come back until she's 6 weeks. 8 at the latest."

"That's like a good 4 or 5 months you'll be out, Gab, don't be picky."

She shrugged. "I like my job."

Anisah looked at her. "You get pampered on a daily basis and you don't have to go to work…let me be pregnant for you then."

"I don't get pampered. Kevin goes to work during the day and I'm just stuck at home. It's only been 2 weeks but I swear I'm going crazy."

"Oh boo you. You're life is sooo hard," Anisah rolled her eyes, getting up to pour another cup of coffee.

Gabriella's eyes watched the frame of her 22 year old sister and sighed. "You have no idea Anni."

"What does that even mean?" her sister asked, leaning against the counter with her eyebrows raised.

Gabriella sighed, knowing this was the moment of truth. "There's something…something I have to tell you. It…it's not best…I did something I sort of regret and you can't tell anyone."

Anisah immediately rushed to the other side of the counter. "This sounds juicy, spill!"

_*FIB* *FIB*_

Two hours and a car ride to the mall later, Anisah was still reeling from her sister's news. "I still can't believe this. I can't believe this. Are you fucking serious?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes, shifting through a rack of onesies in front of her. After telling her secret, Gabriella couldn't stand to be in the house with her sister freaking out, much less in the house period and had suggested using this day as a chance to get some more baby shopping done. Of course having Anisah with her was supposed to be somewhat of a help and now she was really rethinking that idea.

"Anisah, please. I told you so that I could get it off my chest, not for you to continuously ask me about it. Yes, I'm serious. I wouldn't joke like this."

"Are you positive? How can you be positive? And how come you haven't mentioned this before? This is like…fucking huge news."

Gabriella shrugged, distracting herself with baby clothes. "It wasn't exactly something I could just call you about and gossip on the phone. Of course I'm positive, I wouldn't have said anything if I wasn't."

"How can you be so positive?"

"Because Kevin and I didn't have sex on our wedding night!" she whispered harshly to her sister, Anisah's eyes widening in surprise and then falling in confusion.

"What?! How the hell do you not have sex with your husband on your wedding night?"

The pregnant 25 year old shrugged. "It wasn't exactly a big deal. I had a little too much wine after…and we had to get up at 6 to catch our flight to Puerto Rico, plus we didn't get back to the hotel room until well after 1. It just didn't happen that night."

"But you had sex the following night, right?"

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "Of course we did, but…the doctor told me my conception date was the night of the wedding, so…"

"MY GOD! I can't believe you. And to think I thought you were the good sister," Anisah commented, moving over to coo at the different stuffed animals on sale.

"What does that mean," Gabriella asked perplexed, her attention drawn and eyebrows furrowed.

Anisah shrugged, picking up a onesie that said 'My Aunt Loves Me Most' with a smile, which Gabriella ignored easily. "Seriously, Anisah! What do you mean by that?"

Anisah sighed, folding the onesie back up and putting it on the table before turning to her sister. "Honestly….Mom and Dad have always pegged you as the 'good child' and I've always been the 'problem child'…"

"That's not true," the older sibling protested.

"It is true! Do you know how many times Dad's compared me to you. How many times I've overheard them praising your accomplishments. How they could only wish that I'd chosen to go to Stanford like you and study pre-law. You're the golden child, but…that's okay with me. Someone has to be it right?"

"Anni, why…you should have told me you felt that way."

Anisah shrugged. "It's been like that since I was a kid, who cares? When you were 17, you went to study groups in your free time and I went to parties. Of course, they're gonna worship you. We're two different people, Gab."

"But that doesn't mean Mom and Dad love me more."

Anisah smiled. "I didn't say they did, they just…expect more from you I guess. You graduated, went to law school, got married, and now you're having a kid. You're every parents dream."

"But you're not the 'problem child'," Gabriella protested, making her sister roll her eyes.

"Okay, how about 'wild child'? I like that one better," she said with a laugh while checking out some cribs.

Gabriella looked at her sister, completed confused by this new information. Good child? What the hell was going on here?

_*FIB* *FIB*_

It was 9 o'clock at night.

Troy wasn't home though, like most people would be expected to be at this time, but then again he wasn't most people. He wasn't at a bar either, or out somewhere partying, no, never. He was somewhere completely unexpected and unpredicted.

He was standing in front of the Montez-Adams household.

"You can do this, Bolton," he spoke out loud to himself, pacing on the nice white porch. There were two cars in the driveway, along with a jeep parked in front of his own SUV on the street. The lights were on in multiple rooms, so he knew they were awake, but he didn't know how hard this was going to be.

"It's just talking to her. You can do this, it's not like you want to have sex with her again. Of course, it would be nice – forget it. You are here to talk, to get to know her, be friends. You can…"

"Can I help you?" The front door was ajar, and a man about the same height and build as Troy was standing on the porch, looking at him curiously. He had dark hair that was easily gelled and styled back while he was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an old Yale t-shirt. He guessed this was Kevin.

"Uh….n…yeah, yeah. Hi, I'm Troy Bolton. You might remember me?"

Kevin looked at him warily, trying to place him and Troy could swear he had already placed him in his mind and was about to curse him out and tell him to never come back, but a smile broke out. "Yeah, you came to the wedding right? You're a friend of Gabi's?"

Troy was shocked by the sudden friendliness as Kevin held out his hand for a handshake. "Uhm…yep, friend of Gabi's. Is she here?"

Kevin nodded. "Yeah, her family's visiting. Her Mom and sister showed up last night, so she's been in baby overdrive," he informed him. "Come on in, we're all talking in the living room."

Troy watched Kevin turn to lead him into the house and hesitated. "I don't know…"

Kevin rolled his eyes. "Come on, she'll be happy to see a friend from the outside world. She's been complaining about no contact with her friends for the past two weeks."

As Kevin led Troy in and off to the living room, it became clear to him that Gabriella had probably never went into detail about who Troy was and the role he played in her past. She probably didn't want to start and unwanted drama. That would explain why Kevin just thought he was a friendly face from the wedding, but he couldn't help but wonder what he would say if he knew the truth of who Troy was and especially of what had happened the same night he gained his wife.

"Babe, look who's here," Kevin called as they walked into the brightly lit living space.

"Who?" Gabriella's sweet voice called out, before they rounded the corner and he saw the brunette beauty perched on the couch, swollen belly unmistakable as she sat with Anisah and Maria, all things baby related surrounding the three. The beauty looked up, the smile that had previously been on her face, dropping as her chocolate brown eyes connected with his baby blue. "Troy?"

Anisah looked over from her position on the floor next to the coffee table, a smirk crossing her lips. "Holy shit! This should be fun."

* * *

**Don't hate me! I've been juggling preparing for college and enjoying my last summer with my friends and I've kinda fallen off the wagon lately. But no fear, I am back and have realized the error of my ways and I am making it a plan to make sure I at least get halfway done with this story before I start in the fall and then get distracted by the busy college world.**

**Please review, they make me happy and believe it or not they give me inspiration to continue. **


	7. Chapter 6

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_Gabriella sighed, knowing this was the moment of truth. "There's something…something I have to tell you. It…it's not best…I did something I sort of regret and you can't tell anyone."_

_Anisah immediately rushed to the other side of the counter. "This sounds juicy, spill!"_

**xx**

"_Can I help you?" The front door was ajar, and a man about the same height and build as Troy was standing on the porch, looking at him curiously. He had dark hair that was easily gelled and styled back while he was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an old Yale t-shirt. He guessed this was Kevin._

"_Uh….n…yeah, yeah. Hi, I'm Troy Bolton. You might remember me?" _

**xx**

"_Babe, look who's here," Kevin called as they walked into the brightly lit living space._

"_Who?" Gabriella's sweet voice called out, before they rounded the corner and he saw the brunette beauty perched on the couch, swollen belly unmistakable as she sat with Anisah and Maria, all things baby related surrounding the three. The beauty looked up, the smile that had previously been on her face, dropping as her chocolate brown eyes connected with his baby blue. "Troy?"_

_Anisah looked over from her position on the floor next to the coffee table, a smirk crossing her lips. "Holy shit! This should be fun."_

_**Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.**_

_**-Mark Twain**_

Chapter 6

Gabriella stood up faster than she should have at almost 7 months pregnant. "Troy, what are you doing here?"

Troy glanced around the living room, seeing the awkward face of Maria, the clueless face of Kevin, and the smirking face of Anisah. "I…uh…I don't…I don't know."

"Maybe he's back for round two," Anisah muttered, not very quiet at all, causing Gabriella to shoot her a glare.

"Uhm, can we go talk?" she asked, gesturing towards the kitchen, hoping that he would agree so she wouldn't have to do this in front of her mother and Kevin.

He nodded, backing up as she followed him into the kitchen, immediately leaning against the counter, head lowered, eyes focused on the tile on the floor. "I didn't think I'd be interrupting…"

"You didn't think at all before you came here, though, did you?"

"Gabriella…"

"What did you think coming here would prove? Was this supposed to be some sort of defining moment? Am I supposed to be happy that you're here? Troy this couldn't be a worse time for this."

"I just…I don't know, I've been thinking about you a lot lately."

"Thinking about me? Troy, do you understand how wrong all of this is?"

"You weren't saying that the night it happened," he murmured, thinking she didn't hear, but she had heard loud and clear.

"It was a mistake! A mistake that unfortunately I am paying for a regretting every day since it happened! Having you here is not making the situation any better."

"So you've been thinking about me too?"

"I don't have a choice!" Trying to calm herself from getting upset, she took a deep breath, looking directly into his eyes with tears threatening to fall. "I try so hard to forget you and forget us and everything we've been through and all that we've done, but I can't! And you know why? Because no matter what I do, I will always have a part of you now."

Troy had been listening intently, feeling the emotion as she admitted to him, but he stopped hearing her last line and forced himself to focus on the look on her face. "Wha..? Part of me? What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Troy. What else could I be talking about right now?"

Getting the hint and having a feeling about what she really meant, Troy slit his eyes at her angrily. "Say it."

"You and I both know damn well I don't need to say it," Gabriella answered.

"Gabi, say it."

"I can't…"

"Fucking say it! Tell me what we both know. Explain it to me. Confirm everything that I'm thinking right now and just tell me the truth!"

"It's your baby!" She shrieked quickly. "It's your fucking baby, are you happy now?"

Kevin came running into the kitchen at her scream, followed closely by Maria and Anisah. Grabbing onto Gabriella's waist and pressing her firmly into his chest. "Baby, what's wrong, what happened?" And quickly turning to Troy's tense frame without waiting for an answer from his wife. "What did you do to her?"

Softening at the look of Gabriella's broken figure, Troy attempting to apologize, moving forward. "I didn't…"

"Don't you dare!" Kevin growled. "What did you say to her?"

"I didn't mean it."

"Get the fuck out!"

"Kevin," Gabriella whimpered into his ear, glancing over at Troy while trying to calm him down.

"No, don't defend him. Whatever the hell you did, just go ahead and save yourself and get the fuck out of my house."

"I didn't do anything. I just…"

"Do I look like I fucking care? Get out before I take you out!"

Angered by the man who had in a sense stolen the love of his life and was currently living the life he'd wanted for so long, with the family that should have been his, Troy wasn't ready to back off just so easily. "You're going to take me out? I'd like to see you try."

"Are you testing me?" Kevin asked, letting go of Gabriella and stepping up to Troy.

"Kevin, stop," Gabriella whispered, pulling on his sleeve. "Just let it go, he'll leave…"

"You think you're so fucking bad, huh? Maybe that's the reason I'm married to Gabriella and not you."

"Kevin!" Gabi warned, knowing that this was only going to anger Troy more.

"Wow, are you sure it's me who thinks I'm 'fucking bad'? Do you feel big because you can shove this in my face? Does it make you feel good to know that you'll always be her second fucking choice?"

"Troy, stop!"

"No, don't. I want to hear what he has to say. You actually think that you ever stood a chance with her?"

"You don't know shit!" Troy growled.

"I know everything! More than you'd think I know."

"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure there are some things you don't know. Maybe you should take a second look at your life and how fucking perfect it is before you start talking about me."

Gabriella bit her lip, her heart pounding away in her chest with the fear that the next words out of Troy's mouth would reveal the secret she'd kept for 7 months.

"Maybe you talk to your 'wife' and figure out everything that you don't before you actually think that your life is better than mine, because I'm pretty damn sure I know something that you'd never even think was possible." Troy's anger had gotten the best of him and he was close to wanting to reveal the secret they'd been keeping, but one look at Gabriella's worried and pleading face, her gaze fixed on him and he knew that he couldn't hurt her like that, even if she had done what felt and seemed like worse to him.

"Just…re-evaluate your life before you criticize mine," he spoke before locking eyes with Gabriella. "Who's fucking with whose emotions now?"

She watched as he let himself out, storming away angrily and hearing the door shut hard behind him. Kevin glanced at her, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, seemingly forgetting all about what had just happened. "Let's go to bed, it's been a long day."

And as the other 3 in the house cleaned up and prepared for bed, Gabriella glanced out the window, a hand firmly placed on her stomach, wondering if she was genuinely happy with the turn her life was taking.

_*FIB* *FIB*_

Troy stormed into his apartment, grabbing the closest thing he could – which happened to be a lamp – and threw it across the room, watching with anger as it shattered clean across the wall.

"Whoa!" Chad spoke as he stepped through the doorway of the apartment. He'd been in his car when his friend had angrily driven up and stomped his way up and into his apartment. "What the hell happened."

"She happened! I went to see her!"

"Who's her?"

"Who do you think her is? Gabriella, I went to see her."

"I…what'd she say?"

Troy shook his head. "You knew didn't you?"

"Troy…"

"No, Chad, you fucking knew all along and you didn't say a damn word to me! She's having my fucking baby!"

"I know…"

"Yeah, that's the problem! You know! You knew before I did and she's sitting here playing it off as if it's that bastards kid!"

"He's her husband, Troy. What else is she supposed to do?"

"I don't know, maybe tell him the truth? I…I can't let him raise my child."

"Troy," Chad tried to step forward to console his friend, but Troy just moved away. "You don't really have a choice in the matter."

"But the thing is, I do, Chad! It's my kid! I have rights!"

"So what are you gonna do? Tell Kevin the truth, force her to be with you?"

"No, that's Gabriella's job. But I promise you, whether I'm with Gabriella or not, I will be a part of my child's life. I'm not just going to sit by and let him raise my kid as his own! Plus once he knows, he's probably not going to stick around."

"Troy don't do that to her. I know you're hurt and upset, but don't hurt her. She's happy, can't you see that? And if you screw this up and make her just as miserable as you feel, then where is that going to get you?"

"I just…it's my kid." He answered desperately, the frustration and pain evident and radiation from every inch of his body.

"I know and maybe you can talk it out with her, but don't hurt her like that. And at this point, how are you going to prove it's yours without causing a scene anyway?" Chad tried to plead with his friend.

Troy thought it out and realized that he didn't want to hurt Gabriella, no matter what their situation was right now, but he wasn't about to sit by and let his child grow up without him.

"I'm getting a paternity test."

* * *

**AHHH! Don't kill me!**

**I know this chapter was pretty interesting if I do say so myself. I recall having such a great time writing it. I laughed, I cried...I sound extremely malicious right now.**

**Anyway I know you're all probably reading those last 5 words (if you consider '****a' a word) and thinking you hate me, but no fear, another update shall be soon! Working on some more chapters as we speak and I'm thinking of going ahead and posting my other story because I'm making major progress on it and loving it so far and I'm confident you guys will too.**

**And if you're interested I forgot to post it earlier, but I created an outfit when I first wrote the story of what I envisioned Gabriella looking like on her wedding day in this story. Refer to the intro if you need to but the link to the outfit is in my profile under Fade Into the Background which should be right under my in progress and completed stories and my little profile update thingy. Or it's the first link under the bolded 'Links' (: **

**REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 7

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_Gabriella stood up faster than she should have at almost 7 months pregnant. "Troy, what are you doing here?"_

_Troy glanced around the living room, seeing the awkward face of Maria, the clueless face of Kevin, and the smirking face of Anisah. "I…uh…I don't…I don't know."_

_**xx**_

"_It was a mistake! A mistake that unfortunately I am paying for a regretting every day since it happened! Having you here is not making the situation any better."_

"_So you've been thinking about me too?"_

"_I don't have a choice! I try so hard to forget you and forget us and everything we've been through and all that we've done, but I can't! And you know why? Because no matter what I do, I will always have a part of you now."_

"_Wha..? Part of me? What do you mean?"_

"_You know what I mean, Troy. What else could I be talking about right now?"_

"_Say it."_

"_You and I both know damn well I don't need to say it," Gabriella answered._

"_Gabi, say it."_

"_I can't…"_

"_Fucking say it!"_

"_It's your baby! It's your fucking baby, are you happy now?"_

_**Believe that your life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.**_

_**-William James**_

Chapter 7

"Troy, I really don't think this is a good idea," Chad tried to stop his friend as he stormed into the office building and up to the front desk.

"It's not really up to you Chad. Hi, I need to see Gabriella Montez-Adams," he spoke to the receptionist.

The woman glanced at them curiously as Chad ran his hand over his face in frustration and Troy waited patiently yet, determined right next to him, face showing no emotion.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, it'll be quick though, I just have some papers to hand off to her."

She smiled politely. "Unfortunately, she's told me not to let anyone up into her office anymore without an appointment. If you want me to pass off those papers to her, I can surely do that for you?"

Troy shook his head. "I need to give these to her personally."

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't let you up. She's not even supposed to be here. She's still on maternity leave and she's just picking up some papers to take home with her. "

She went to turn back to her work and Troy rolled his eyes, walking towards the elevator. "Sir! Where are you going? You can't go up there without an appointment."

Troy ignored her, hitting the button and waiting for the elevator. "I'm calling security, you can't do this!"

She went to pick up the phone, but Chad's hand gently came down to grab a hold of hers. "Please, just let him do this. He's having a hard time and he has some personally matters to handle with Mrs. Adams."

"I'm sorry, but he's not allowed to go up there. Sir, please!" She called out to Troy as he stepped onto the elevator and she quickly pressed the button to buzz up to Gabriella. "Mrs. Adams, we're having an issue down here at the front!"

Gabriella's voice came through the intercom a second later. "How serious, Sharon, what's going on?"

"There's a guy here and I told him that he's not allowed up without an appointment, but he got on the elevator anyway. Do you want me to call security?"

Gabriella, who was in her office gathering paperwork to take home to work on, stood up from her desk with a little difficult and walked her sweatpants and t-shirt clad body to the door to look out into the hall. Watching the elevator doors open up, Gabriella walked back to her phone and buzzed back down to Sharon. "It's Sharon, there's no need to call security. He'll be in and out in a minute after we talk."

"Are you sure?" Sharon questioned for the woman's safety.

"It's fine, Sharon. Thank you." Putting down the phone, Gabriella looked back up just as Troy walked through the doorframe to see her.

"Hey."

"What are you doing here? I thought we established last week where we stand as far as our relationship. You can't be doing this Troy. Surprise visits are not okay, Sharon almost called security on you!"

Troy nodded. "I understand that, and I respect that, but I needed to talk to you."

"We can't do this."

"Trust me, I'm not here about that…we'll not exactly. If you want nothing to do with me, then so be it, but if that really is my kid inside you, then I'm not going to give up that easily."

"Excuse me? What does that even mean?"

Troy sighed, before outstretching his hands, pushing the papers he had been carrying into her hands.

"What is this?" She questioned as she tore open the envelope and unfolded the papers from the doctors' office to read what was addressed to her. Upon completely her reading, she looked up at him, confused. "A paternity test? Troy…"

"I want to be a part of my childs' life and whether you want me to or not, if it's mine, I will be."

"Troy I already told you it is."

He shrugged. "Well, you're over here trying to pass it off as Kevin's and you're lying to him day by day. I want to be a part of my kids life and if you won't willingly let me, then I'm gonna make you have to let me."

"Why are you doing this?"

He tensed, sensing the hurt from the sound of her voice and as much as he hated hurting her, he had to do this for him. And it wasn't like she wasn't already hurting him. He didn't want to do it, but this is what it came down to. "It was your choice. I'm just doing what I have to do. I'll leave now, just make sure you show up on the date, please. This is important to me."

As he walked out, Gabriella felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. She felt like she couldn't breathe and it was almost as if her lungs were constricting tightly around her heart. Backing up, she bumped into the desk and slowly slid down the edge of it until she hit the floor, tears that had previously been brimming in her eyes, now streaming down her face.

_*FIB* *FIB*_

When Gabriella got back to the house, Anisah was relaxing on the couch while Maria was in the kitchen cooking as well as cleaning.

"Hey honey, did you get all the stuff you needed from the office."

Still holding the papers from Troy in her hand, she nodded solemnly, sitting down quietly on a stool at the kitchen counter.

"Are you okay?"

Shaking her head, more tears started to spill from her eyes as Anisah walked in the kitchen to see what was up and Maria moved to console her eldest daughter. "Mija, what's wrong? Did something happen at the office."

Anisah watched curiously as Gabriella furiously wiped her tears, unable to speak the truth because she was still in shock over the whole think. "Ella, stop crying it's not good for the baby, you're stressing yourself out."

Gabriella shook her head. "Nothing's matters anymore."

"Why would you say that?" Maria questioned. "You've got a wonderful husband, a baby on the way."

"It's not as perfect as it seems, Mom."

Anisah bit her lip, wondering if Gabriella was going to tell the truth and ready to back her sister if she did. She may not show that she cares half the time, but when it all came down to it, she'd take a bullet for her sister and Gabriella felt the same way.

The older sibling had looked down and then back up. "I need to tell him," she concluded. "Where's Kevin?"

"He went out to the store," Anisah supplied.

"No, I'm right here," Kevin answered, walking into the room, grocery bags in hand. However, they were forgotten all about once he saws the tears in his wifes' eyes. "Baby, what's wrong?" he questioned, walking over to her and pulling her into his arms.

Closing her eyes, she looked back up into his, wondering how the hell she was possibly supposed to break his heart with her news. "Can we talk in private?"

He nodded and glanced to Anisah, who quickly took the hint and shuffled her mother out of the room, knowing that they did not want to be here to witness the blow up. "Let's go take a walk Mama," Anisah suggested, sending Gabriella a look of best wishes with her eyes as they left.

Both Kevin and Gabriella watched Anisah lead her confused mother out the front door and into the fresh afternoon air for a nice brisk walk. "What's going on baby? Did something happen at the office?"

Gabriella took a deep breath and shook her head, not being able to find the words to speak.

"Is it about the baby? Is the baby okay?"

"The baby's fine, Kevin. I just…there's something I need to tell you and I'm not sure how you'll react to it."

Kevin looked into her eyes as he grabbed her hands, stroking them softly. "It can't be that bad. Just tell me."

"Uhm…do you remember last week and how Troy showed at the house."

He nodded. "What about it?"

"He showed up again today at the office when I was there."

"What? I'll kill him."

"Kevin," she stopped him from getting up by pulling on his arm. "Before you freak out and do something stupid, please listen to everything I have to say. You might actually want to sit down before I say it, though."

Confused, but trusting the words of his wife, he sat down, pulling his chair so he was sitting directly across from her. They sat face to face and he grabbed her hand again.

Gabriella looked down at their intertwined hands, positive that once she told him the truth, he'd probably never want to hold her hand again. "Talk to me, Gabriella."

"Troy came to the office to give me some papers."

"Papers about…"

"Let me finish," she pleaded, squeezing his hands quickly. Taking one hand away from his grasp, she reached over and picked up the folded papers she'd came in with, unfolding them carefully with her shaking hands. "He brought me these papers."

As she handed them over, she looked back down, waiting for his realization as his eyes scanned over the paper. Minutes later, he looked up at her, confusion and anger laced together in his eyes. "Why would be asking for a paternity test?"

Gabriella looked down, the tears forming in her eyes again. When she didn't answer, Kevin just pushed the issue more. "Gabriella? Why would your ex-boyfriend be filing for a paternity test from you?"

"Because he believes he might be the father."

"Of our baby? Why would he think that, huh?"

She looked at him, her eyes pleading with him. She didn't want him to make her say it when she was pretty sure he knew what she was getting at.

"Gabriella, tell me! Tell me why Troy thinks that this is his baby?" Kevin asked for a third time, his voice raising.

"Because there's a chance that he might be." She admitted, not wanting to meet his gaze, but she didn't have to because seconds after the words left her mouth, Kevin stood up from his chair angrily.

"Kevin!" She called, getting up after him and following him with a little difficulty as he stormed up the stairs and into their bedroom. When she'd arrived a few seconds after he'd walked in there she saw his duffle bag sitting on their bed as he threw clothes and what not into the bag. "Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but here."

"Kevin, please don't."

"I can't stay here with you. I can't even look at you right now, Gabriella."

"Then I'll go. I can stay with my mom or something."

"No!" he stopped, meeting her eyes for the first time since they had been downstairs. "You're pregnant, stay here."

"But I…"

"I'm not going to let you leave this house tonight in your condition, stay here and I'll go." He picked up his bag and left the room, Gabriella quickly following behind him as best as she could.

"Kevin, don't go, I'm begging you!"

"GOD DAMMNIT!" He swore, letting his anger get the best of him. "WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO GABRIELLA? YOU JUST TOLD ME THAT YOU CHEATED ON ME WITH YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND…EX-FIANCE ACTUALLY AND YOU COULD BE PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REACT TO THAT? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY HERE WITH YOU AFTER THIS?"

Gabriella's tears were falling full force now. "Kevin, I didn't mean to…"

"I can't do this right now," He told her calmly. "I'm going to sleep at a friends' house. I'll call you if I want to talk."

As he flew down the stairs in his anger and rushed out the front door, Maria and Anisah had just been making their way back into the house, but stopped on the porch, watching Kevin climb into his car and peal out of the driveway and down the block without a second look back.

Anisah walked inside to find her sister, broken and standing in the middle of the stairs, her tears falling like a non-stop water faucet. The only thing she could think to do was to grab her sister and pull her into a hug in consolation. This was not the way things were supposed to be.

* * *

**I have nothing to say about how long it took me to update because there is no excuse I was just being lazy. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one should be out soon.**

** REVIEW please!**


	9. Chapter 8

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_What is this?" She questioned as she tore open the envelope and unfolded the papers from the doctors' office to read what was addressed to her. Upon completely her reading, she looked up at him, confused. "A paternity test? Troy…"_

"_I want to be a part of my childs' life and whether you want me to or not, if it's mine, I will be."_

"_Why are you doing this?"_

_He tensed, sensing the hurt from the sound of her voice and as much as he hated hurting her, he had to do this for him. And it wasn't like she wasn't already hurting him. He didn't want to do it, but this is what it came down to. "It was your choice. I'm just doing what I have to do. I'll leave now, just make sure you show up on the date, please. This is important to me."_

_**xx**_

"_Why would be asking for a paternity test?"_

"_Gabriella, tell me! Tell me why Troy thinks that this is his baby?" Kevin asked for a third time, his voice raising._

"_Because there's a chance that he might be." She admitted, not wanting to meet his gaze, but she didn't have to because seconds after the words left her mouth, Kevin stood up from his chair angrily._

_**xx**_

"_WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO GABRIELLA? YOU JUST TOLD ME THAT YOU CHEATED ON ME WITH YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND…EX-FIANCE ACTUALLY AND YOU COULD BE PREGNANT WITH HIS CHILD? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REACT TO THAT? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY HERE WITH YOU AFTER THIS?"_

_Gabriella's tears were falling full force now. "Kevin, I didn't mean to…"_

"_I can't do this right now," He told her calmly. "I'm going to sleep at a friends' house. I'll call you if I want to talk."_

**Don't go through life, grow through life.**

**-Eric Butterworth**

Chapter 8

"Gabriella, mija, I made food, do you want any?"

Gabriella, who had been sitting on the couch, staring blankly at the wall, shook her head in response to her mother's question.

Maria sighed, stepping further into the living room and sitting next to her silent daughter. "You have to eat something. You're eating for two."

Gabriella shrugged.

"Don't do that."

"I'm not hungry, Mom."

"Gabriella…"

"I'm not hungry."

"And you know what, I don't give a damn!" Her mother yelled while taking off the apron she had been wearing and tossing it on the table. "At this point, you're in no condition to care for yourself, so I could care less what you want or don't want. You are pregnant! There is another person living inside you that depends on you for everything you have to give it and right now you're killing it! So from now on, I don't care if you're not hungry, because you will eat! I'll be damned if I let you harm my poor grandchild because you couldn't control your emotions. You made a mistake, big deal, now own up to it. Stop sulking like a little baby and take care of your child like I raised you to have enough common sense to do that."

With that Maria turned on her heels and walked back into the kitchen without another word, leaving Gabriella staring at her back in shock.

"I've never seen Mom that pissed," Anisah commented from where she was standing at the doorway. "Especially not at you. Good job."

"It's not funny."

"I never said it was. But it's refreshing to see someone put you in your place."

"Excuse me?!"

"She's right! You've been sulking and moping around this house for the last week like someone took your heart and ripped it out. You made a mistake and now we all have to be reprimanded for it. It may seem harsh to say, but the only one to blame for your sadness right now is yourself. And when you're destroying another life because of it, then you start screwing things up again."

"I'm not destroying another life."

"You haven't eaten since Sunday, it's Thursday Gabriella. Try again."

"Look, I'm fine, I'll be okay."

"And what about your son or daughter?"

"You know what, I don't need this from you. You don't know anything."

"I know enough to know that if I was in your position, I wouldn't be acting this stupid!"

"I'm not being stupid!"

"Could have fooled me."

"Shut up!"

Anisah smirked. "Why can't handle the truth? Why don't you just admit to yourself and everyone else the way you feel and then maybe we could help you solve the problem."

"There is no problem."

"Bullshit!"

"I hate you!"

"And I love you, that's why I'm telling you this. Get it together, because in less than 2 months, you'll have another life to care for, but it'll mean nothing if you can't even get your own life in check."

"Have you spoken to her?"

"Nope," Troy responded as he moved around the kitchen in his apartment, looking for where he'd placed the letters concerning his bills.

"Do you know how she's doing?"

"Nope," came the same response.

"Do you care?"

"Of course I care Chad, I'm not a heartless monster."

Chad snorted. "Could have fooled me."

Troy sighed. "Look, I know you think it was a bad idea for me to file for a paternity test…"

"Very bad idea," Chad interrupted.

Troy chose to ignore him and continue on. "But what else was I going to do? She refused to be honest with me and I do care about her in the baby, especially if it's my kid, despite whatever you may think."

"Caring about someone, loving someone, doesn't mean you hurt them like this."

Troy shrugged. "How sure are you that I'm still in love with her?"

"Because you can't just fall out of love with someone. Especially not you, you're forgetting that I've been your best friend since pre-school. I've seen how you are with her and I know what you're feeling before you do man."

"If you think so."

"Seriously, this whole thing is kind of fucked up T, you have to admit that you went a little bit too far."

Troy was about to respond to Chad's comment when there was a buzz throughout the apartment, signaling that there was someone at the door. "Hold that though," Troy spoke before walking over to open his apartment door.

When the big blue metal door with 3F on the front opened up wide, Troy was more than beyond surprised at seeing the person standing on the other side of it.

A bit stumped, Troy stood with the door opening, staring, jaw slack with shock but he quickly set it, going stiff minutes later. "What are you doing here?"

Kevin sighed, playing with his fists. "I was originally coming over here to kick your ass, but I'd rather talk to you first. Get some answers to my questions."

Before Troy could form a response to Kevin's introduction, the young man in his apartment doorway continued on. "Why'd you do it?"

Troy shrugged. "If it's my kid, I want to be able to…"

"Not that!" Kevin shook his head, his cold eyes meeting the confused ones of Troy. "Why'd you sleep with her?"

Swallowing, Troy glanced down while shrugging. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"But it did!"

"She asked me…"

"You could have said no. Why didn't you say no?"

"I don't know. I wasn't exactly in my right mind that night. I love her and when the girl I love is asking me to make love to her, the last thing on my mind was asking questions of refusing her."

"You love her? Even though she's married? And even though she left you?"

"I do and technically she wasn't…you guys weren't married that long when it happened."

"Regardless it still happened! And what does that mean? When exactly did it happen?"

Troy swallowed. "June 14th."

Kevin's jaw tightened as he looked at who he considered 'the other man'. "Our wedding night? You fucked my wife only hours after I married her?"

Troy shook his head. "I didn't _fuck_ her, I _made love_ to her."

"You son of a bitch." Kevin's fists began to ball up at his sides

"You don't understand. I was losing her, I wasn't about to stop her. I couldn't…"

"Couldn't my ass! YOU HAD SEX WITH MY WIFE THE NIGHT I GOT MARRIED TO HER! ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?! You'd already lost her, was that supposed to suddenly bring her back to you?"

"Kevin…"

"NO! Don't speak my name! Don't try to sit there and defend yourself because no matter what you say, you're an asshole! Do you think about your actions before you do them! How would you feel if that had been you at that altar and she went off behind your back and had sex with her ex?"

"It was almost me."

"But it wasn't you, it was me! God I have every right to kick your ass right now, but I won't because I have so much more respect for myself."

Troy scoffed. "Because you really came here with the thought that you were going to kick _my_ ass."

"You don't think I will?"

"You wouldn't. You can't. Just accept the fact that your wife was with _me_ on your wedding night, she has sex with _me_, and that baby that she's having is most likely _mine_."

Kevin's face had gone from normal to beet red as his level of anger reached an alltime high. Before either man knew what was happening, Kevin's fist flew towards Troy's face and with a loud crack and a grunt, Troy was knocked on his ass, holding his newly bloody nose.

"You know what that's for, bastard."

* * *

**So I'm definitely getting places as far as typing this story goes. I have 11 chapters now so far and I'm not sure how many they'll actually be, but I'll let you know as soon as I do. I'm thinking around 15 total, but don't hold me to that because I don't want to drag this story out too far. Plus now that Band Vs. Love is published I've already got 11 chapters on that one as well but it's not done either. So I hope you like it and uhm I guess that's all REVIEW, tell me how you enjoyed this chapter and what you like and where you think/want this story to go next (:**


	10. Chapter 9

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_And you know what, I don't give a damn!" Her mother yelled while taking off the apron she had been wearing and tossing it on the table. "At this point, you're in no condition to care for yourself, so I could care less what you want or don't want. You are pregnant! There is another person living inside you that depends on you for everything you have to give it and right now you're killing it! So from now on, I don't care if you're not hungry, because you will eat! I'll be damned if I let you harm my poor grandchild because you couldn't control your emotions. You made a mistake, big deal, now own up to it. Stop sulking like a little baby and take care of your child like I raised you to have enough common sense to do that."_

_**xx**_

"_There is no problem."_

"_Bullshit!"_

"_I hate you!"_

"_And I love you, that's why I'm telling you this. Get it together, because in less than 2 months, you'll have another life to care for, but it'll mean nothing if you can't even get your own life in check."_

_**xx**_

"_Our wedding night? You fucked my wife only hours after I married her?"_

_Troy shook his head. "I didn't fuck her, I made love to her."_

"_You son of a bitch." Kevin's fists began to ball up at his sides_

"_You wouldn't. You can't. Just accept the fact that your wife was with me on your wedding night, she has sex with me, and that baby that she's having is most likely mine."_

_Before either man knew what was happening, Kevin's fist flew towards Troy's face and with a loud crack and a grunt, Troy was knocked on his ass, holding his newly bloody nose. _

"_You know what that's for, bastard."_

* * *

_**Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.**_

_**-Buddha**_

* * *

Chapter 9

Gabriella looked on as her sister helped finish the last minute decorations to the nursery.

"How's it looking?" Anisah asked, getting down off the latter and stepping back to admire her own handy work.

Gabriella nodded with a half smile as they looked at the boarder around the room that had just been finished. "Looks great."

Anisah was quick to narrow her eyes at her sisters' reaction. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me."

"Seriously Ani, it's nothing," Gabriella answered with a shake of her head.

"Then why can't you be genuinely happy?"

"I am happy! Who said I'm not happy?"

"The look on your face."

"Ani, I'm fine. It's just feels weird. Not having Kevin here and having Troy pissed at me. To some extent, it feels like I'm alone in this now."

"You've still got us."

"Believe me, I know that, but it's not the same, you know?"

"So why don't you talk to Troy and talk to Kevin and fix this."

"Because I doubt Kevin wants to talk to me, or even look at me right now," Gabriella admitted.

"And Troy?"

"Troy's asking me for a paternity test. What do you think?"

Anisah shrugged. "I think that there's no harm in trying. You can't just mope around. And you're gonna have to talk to BOTH of them eventually, so why not do it as soon as possible?"

"It's a scary thought. There's just so much going on at one time and it's my entire fault and the worst part is I don't know how to fix this."

"Well…" Anisah sat down on the floor next to her sister. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You are the smart one after all."

Gabriella couldn't help but crack a smile. "I don't feel so smart right now."

Wrapping her arm around her older sister, Gabriella leaned in and they rested their heads against each others, hoping that soon enough all the troubles would be over.

Gabriella sighed as she stood outside the apartment building, glancing up the brick pavement to the window she knew belonged to the apartment of the person she was here to see. Entering the building, she kindly thanked the woman that had held the door open for her and waited just minutes for an elevator to come to the lobby.

Pressing the button for the 8th floor, Gabriella stood quietly across from said woman as they rode the elevator to their respective floors. The woman got off first, waving as she left and the doors closed behind her, leaving Gabi wondering if she should actually go through with this.

When the bell dinged and opened on the 8th floor, Gabriella took a deep breath as she stepped off and turned left, following her memory to the familiar apartment door and pressing the buzzer underneath the peep hole.

Despite her nervousness, Gabriella heard a voice call out and some shuffling before there was a presence at the door. He hadn't opened it yet, but she could hear his breath on the other side and assumed he had looked through the peep hole and spotted her face.

Maybe that meant she should go home. He clearly wasn't expecting her nor did he want her here it seemed. But instead of turning and walking away, Gabriella felt herself looking directly at the peep hole. "Troy, please open the door. We need to talk."

There was another moment or two of silence, before she heard the chain moving and the door cracked open, revealing the left side of Troy's face as he peeked out at her. "What are you doing here?" He asked simply.

"We need to talk," she repeated, hoping he would let her in, but knowing full well that if he didn't it would be okay for her too. This was awkward enough already.

"Kevin's done enough talking for the both of you."

By the look on her face, Troy guessed she was aware of Kevin's whereabouts lately. "I guess you didn't know he came to see me?"

"He came to see you?" She questioned. "For what? What'd he say?"

Dropping his head to look at the ground, Troy chuckled. "Not so much what he said, but more did."

Knowing she might regret asking, Gabriella did so anyway, gently pushing on the door as she did. "What did he do?" She felt Troy tense as she started to push the door and she stood, looking pleadingly at him. "Troy it might be easier to talk if you let me in."

Mentally debating with himself for a moment, Troy nodded slightly, opening the door for her to come in and turning his head so that got a full view of the bruise and swelling that covered his right cheek and temple.

"Troy!" She gasped, forgetting their current status and reaching for his face to get a better look and brush her hands over the spot. He winced and she stepped back. "He hit you?"

Shrugging, Troy closed and locked the door again. "Can say I blame him. I would hit me too."

"Troy…"

"And he packs a punch, that's for sure."

She shook her head. "I'm so sor…"

He stopped her with a hand. "You wanted to talk?" And with that he walked into what she knew was his living room, leaving her no choice but to follow behind him.

There was a frantic banging on the hotel room door that interrupted Kevin from his work. Confused, he stood from the papers at his desk to open the door, revealing his very much pregnant and angry wife.

"Gabriella…"

"You hit him?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Troy! You went over there and hit him? Are you crazy?"

Dropping his head, he looked away. "Figures you would find out about that. So I take it you went to see him?"

"Does that matter?" Gabriella asked exasperated. "What matters is that you went over there and punched him in the face. You sought him out!"

"He slept with my wife!" Kevin countered back.

"So what?! You wanna hit me too? Because I willingly slept with him that night Kevin, it's not all his fault. It's not like he forced me."

"Wow! There's goes that confession I've been waiting for!" Kevin exclaimed, turning away from her.

"Stop it! I never once lied about this."

"No! No, that's right because omission isn't lying. You're so right."

"Well what do you want me to say? I made a mistake. I'm not perfect! I'm far from it and you knew that when you married me!"

"I never expected you to be perfect! I expected you to tell me the truth and be 100 percent honest with me. I didn't expect for you to sleep with your ex on our wedding night and get pregnant with his child!"

"We don't know that it's his," she defended quickly.

"Does that change anything? Did you not still sleep with him?"

"But I married you Kevin."

He nodded. "But that doesn't mean you're over him. I mean, there had to be something or else you wouldn't have had sex with him."

"Kevin, I'm sorry I slept with Troy, but you have to understand I wasn't in my right mind that night. It had months since I'd seen him and he showed up like that and…I don't know what came over me, but I needed him."

Kevin scoffed. "Because that's what every man wants to hear his wife say."

"I've already said that I'm sorry, Kevin, but it's not like I can change anything now."

He nodded. "Right, we'll just have to wait for that paternity test."

"And then what?"

"Then you can decide who you want to be with."

"I thought that was obvious!"

"Not so much since I found out you slept with your ex-fiancé the same night we got married!"

Gabriella stepped back at his tone, having nothing else to say to defend her argument. "How'd you even get up here anyway?"

She stared at the floor at she played with her fingers. "The charges for the room showed up on your credit card. And I told the guy at the desk I was your wife and I was coming to surprise you."

He couldn't help the dry chuckled that left his lips. "And surprise me you did, Gabriella."

She stepped to him; taking his hand and making him look up at her. "I never meant to hurt you. It was idiotic and now it's going to cost me a great man who really cared about me."

Gritting his teeth, Kevin nodded. "And then maybe you and Troy can patch things up," he replied bitterly. "I think it's time for you to go." Kevin quickly guided her to the door, holding it open as she stepped out. "Call me when you know and then I'll contact you with the details regarding our divorce."

And with that, he slammed the door shut, leaving Gabriella staring at the three gold numbers on the door with regret.

* * *

**I'm finally getting somewhat settled into my dorm so I decided to go ahead and give you guys an update since you've been waiting oh so patiently. Not sure when the next update will be, but I'll try not to keep it long. Let me know what you guys are thinking as always in a REVIEW and I'll answer any questions you have for me and have a new chapter out soon (:**


	11. Chapter 10

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_Well…" Anisah sat down on the floor next to her sister. "I'm sure you'll figure it out. You are the smart one after all."_

_Gabriella couldn't help but crack a smile. "I don't feel so smart right now."_

_**xx**_

"_Troy!" She gasped, forgetting their current status and reaching for his face to get a better look and brush her hands over the spot. He winced and she stepped back. "He hit you?"_

_Shrugging, Troy closed and locked the door again. "Can say I blame him. I would hit me too."_

_**xx**_

"_Does that change anything? Did you not still sleep with him?"_

"_But I married you Kevin."_

_He nodded. "But that doesn't mean you're over him. I mean, there had to be something or else you wouldn't have had sex with him."_

"_I've already said that I'm sorry, Kevin, but it's not like I can change anything now. I never meant to hurt you. It was idiotic and now it's going to cost me a great man who really cared about me."_

"_And then maybe you and Troy can patch things up," he replied bitterly. "I think it's time for you to go." Kevin quickly guided her to the door, holding it open as she stepped out. "Call me when you know and then I'll contact you with the details regarding our divorce."_

* * *

_**Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.**_

_**-Drake**_

* * *

Chapter 10

"I don't want to do this," Gabriella admitted as she stood in front of her sister in the foyer of her house.

Anisah turned to inspect her sister carefully. "Do you want to know who the father of this baby is?"

Fidgeting with her fingers, Gabriella looked down at her swollen belly that was currently hiding the lower half of her body from her. "Not particularly…"

"Bullshit. If I don't make you do this, then you'll regret not doing it. You have to do this. Not to mention if you don't, you're just harboring inside your body for however long you choose to not know."

Gabriella sighed, knowing her sister was right. It was 5 weeks after she'd gone to speak to Troy and confronted Kevin where he told her he had wanted a divorce. And now the day had come for Gabriella to meet her newborn child. As well as find out the paternity.

Due to the stress produced in her life, Gabriella's doctor decided it would be better to instead of waiting for the birth to happen naturally on its own, that he would induce her labor on her due date and unfortunately for her nerves, the date was today. It was also imperative to doing the paternity test. When Troy had first filed, a letter came in the mail to Gabriella and she was to agree with her doctor about setting up the proper time for DNA testing on her behalf and if she failed to do so, Troy had every right to take her to court and force a paternity test be done with or without her permission. So because paternity tests weren't done while the mother is still pregnant, Gabriella had agreed at the time that after birth, the doctors had full permission to conduct the test once the child was safely disconnected from the mother. And now she was regretting that she ever agreed to this, but she didn't really have the choice of backing out now.

When it all balled down to it, whether she liked it or not, her baby was going to be born today and she'd figure out just which man was the father of her child.

"Fine, let's go before I start to feel even worse than now."

Anisah nodded, ushering her sister towards the front door. "Okay, let's go." But just before Anisah's hand could grip the door handle and pull it open, it opened on its own, revealing the man who had once lived in the house before he'd decided to leave indefinitely.

"Kevin?" Gabriella questioned, just a little bit shocked. They hadn't spoken for over a month now and she's was pretty sure he was dead set on divorcing her.

"Hi."

"What do you what?" Anisah narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ani," Gabriella warned quickly and the smaller brunette put up her hands in defense.

"I'll be waiting in the car. Keep in mind we are on a time crunch that baby yeah?" She followed with a stern look to her older sister before disappearing out the door Kevin had just come through.

"Due date huh?" He asked her immediately after the door had closed.

She shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "I can't be here for you?"

"I'm sorry, but last I remember, you were beyond upset with me and I strictly remember you telling you were going to contact me about a divorce."

"I was upset Gabi. I was hurting; you should know I didn't mean anything I said."

"I don't know that! You were pretty convincing. You pretty much told me you hated me."

"I don't hate you."

"Well it sure seems that way."

He shook his head. "I don't, but how was I supposed to feel. Everything was wrong, so wrong. I had just found out my wife cheated on me and the possibility that the baby she was having might not be mine. It was a lot to process and I was overwhelmed, I wasn't thinking clearly."

Scoffed, Gabriella looked past his face. "When I told you the same thing about me sleeping with Troy you were quick to shut me down. Why should I listen to you now?"

"You're the one that cheated on me! Don't turn this around like I need to beg for your forgiveness!"

Taken aback by his sudden snap, Gabriella moved as quickly as she could around him, heading for the front door.

"I'm talking to you!" Kevin screamed grabbing her arm and pulling her back to him. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you."

"Get off me!" It was then that Gabriella realized just what was causing her husband's behavior. She could smell the liquor on his breath. "You're drunk!"

He smirked at her. "Well what do you 'spect me to drink, huh baby?"

"Kevin…"

"I mean my wife," he started. "Could be having another man's baby," he finished off with a laugh. "My life is so screwed up right now, did you expect me not to have a drink. I mean I'm telling you Whiskey and Vodka seem to solve all life's problems but no matter how much I drink I can't seem to forget about this whole mess you caused me."

As he stepped closer to her, she stepped back, her hands dropping down to her swollen stomach protectively. "Kevin stop! I'm pregnant."

He gazed at her with a dazed expression for a second. "Well no shit! That's how this all got started! You know I used to be happy about this baby…"

"Kevin, I'm sorry, but please don't do anything stupid."

"Stupid?" He chuckled. "You mean like sleeping with my ex-fiancé. Baby you've done enough stupid things for the both of us."

"I'm leaving," she managed to choke out, reaching for the doorknob.

Kevin was quick to grab it and swing her arm wildly in the other direction, sending her stumbling back in the other direction. "You can't leave. You can't leave me baby. I don't want to be away from you," he pleaded in a whisper as he stumbled closer to her again and lost his balance, catching her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you, and I didn't mean it."

"Kevin…" she tried to interrupt him but was shocked when he started crying, using her for support.

"I didn't mean it. I just want to be here with you. I want you to love me. I want you to have my baby. Just please don't go, I don't want you to leave me."

It was then that Anisah walked through the door, spotting the scene unfolding in front of it. "What the hell is going on now?"

In a split second decision, Gabriella shook her head, shifting Kevin's limp body for help from her sister. "Let's get him in the car, he's coming with us."

"Make yourself comfortable Gabriella," Dr. Glenn said. "I'll be back in just minutes and we'll talk about getting the procedure started."

As he walked out, Gabriella turned to look at her sister and husband sitting in the two chairs near the bed. Anisah was looking bored, keeping an eye on Kevin as well after learning of his drunk behavior. Kevin was sitting sullenly next to her, a cup of coffee in hand. He had since sobered up after some food, water, and coffee while they'd been in the waiting room. Now that Gabriella was about to start labor, he hadn't said anything for the most part. He didn't confront anything he spoken earlier and neither had Gabriella, despite Anisah's death glares at her each time Kevin shifted or moved.

"Ready for this?" Anisah asked.

"As I'll ever be," she smiled. "Did you call Mom?"

The younger Montez nodded. "Yeah, she said she was going to try to catch the next flight out. She'll call back when she's landed."

Gabriella smiled, grateful that her sister had stayed when her mother had gone home. She at least needed one supporting face in here that wasn't her husband. "Kevin?"

He looked up from his coffee, the bags under his eyes from lack of sleep and getting over his drunkenness becoming more visible. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Fine."

With a sigh, Anisah stood. "I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be back."

As the door closed, Kevin tried to speak up. "Gabriella…"

"It's fine, Kevin."

"It's not. Before…earlier that wasn't me. I'm sorry for what I said and did. And I'm sorry for last month and threatening you with a divorce. I didn't mean it."

Letting his words settle in her brain she turned to look him in the eye. "So you don't want a divorce?"

"No, God no. I was upset and I just…I let it get to me. I wanted you to hurt as much as I was."

"What if it's not yours?"

He sighed. "We can work on it. I love you. I married you because I love you and I want to be with you, but I'm willing to forgive and forget. I just want to be a family."

Feeling tears come to her eyes, Gabriella stiffened. "You…if he or she isn't yours…"

"It doesn't matter to me anymore. We can get through it. It'll be hard at first, but I love you and I'm willing to make this work if you are."

With that, Gabriella let the tears fall down her face as Dr. Glenn and Anisah came back in the room. "It's time. You ready?"

Gabriella stopped to stare at her sister and the doctor, turn to look at Kevin and then down at her belly. Was she ready?

* * *

**Bah! Sorry for the late update, I know I said in Band vs Love that I would update Sunday and technically now its Monday, but I was watching the VMAs!**

**This chapter kinda moved pretty fast, I hope not too fast cuz I kinda like it, but the coming chapters are REALLY exciting and I like them (but of course I write them) so I'm pretty excited to post more but I'll be busy this next week so don't expect anything until next weekend when I go home for the first time! (it's only a week, we can make it) As always, let me know what you think in a REVIEW and I'll see you guys again soon.**


	12. Chapter 11

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_Gabriella sighed, knowing her sister was right. It was 5 weeks after she'd gone to speak to Troy and confronted Kevin where he told her he had wanted a divorce. And now the day had come for Gabriella to meet her newborn child. As well as find out the paternity._

_**xx**_

_You know I used to be happy about this baby…"_

"_Kevin, I'm sorry, but please don't do anything stupid."_

"_Stupid?" He chuckled. "You mean like sleeping with my ex-fiancé. Baby you've done enough stupid things for the both of us."_

"_I'm leaving," she managed to choke out, reaching for the doorknob._

_Kevin was quick to grab it and swing her arm wildly in the other direction, sending her stumbling back in the other direction. "You can't leave. You can't leave me baby. I don't want to be away from you," he pleaded in a whisper as he stumbled closer to her again and lost his balance, catching her shoulder. "I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt you, and I didn't mean it."_

_**xx**_

"_What if it's not yours?"_

_He sighed. "We can work on it. I love you. I married you because I love you and I want to be with you, but I'm willing to forgive and forget. I just want to be a family."_

_Feeling tears come to her eyes, Gabriella stiffened. "You…if he or she isn't yours…"_

"_It doesn't matter to me anymore. We can get through it. It'll be hard at first, but I love you and I'm willing to make this work if you are."_

* * *

_**Where there is love there is life.**_

_**-Mahatma Gandhi**_

* * *

Chapter 11

Minutes after Dr. Glenn and Anisah had reappeared; Gabriella was being wheeled down the hall from her room to the delivery room. It really hadn't mattered whether Gabriella was ready or not to have her baby, because it was happening and it was happening now.

As she laid on the bed in the delivery room she watched nervously as the doctor and his nurses moved frantically around the room to get her prepared for birth. Both Anisah and Kevin were given scrubs to put on over there clothes as well as one of the nurses coming around to her and sweeping up her long curly locks into a shower cap. Seconds later, there was a white curtain placed between her breasts and stomach, hiding the lower half of her body from her and she instantly tensed, rethinking her decision to do a C-section. Natural birth had to have some sort of good that came with it right?

"Gabriella hun, you need to relax," the nurse politely tried to calm her. "We're going to numb you up so when we start the cesarean section the only thing you should feel is pressure. There's nothing to be worried about. Cesareans are rarely unsuccessful."

"Rarely? So that means they sometimes are? What if I'm that one?"

"Mrs. Adams, there is nothing to worry about while you're in our care. Just leave it to us and soon you will have a beautiful newborn to look after."

Gabriella sighed, relaxing her body as she laid back and concentrated on the white tiles on the ceiling, counting them in her head as she could feel the doctor inject the needle. Wincing, she reached out quickly and grabbed her sisters' hand while Kevin looked on nervously, unsure of what he should have been doing.

"Sir, you're going to have to wait until the delivery is over," she heard the faint voice of a nurse from outside the door.

"You don't understand, I need to be in there with her," she heard that familiar voice respond.

"Troy?" She called out, startling the doctor. Moments later the door opening and Troy rushed in followed by the irate nurse that was trying to get him to leave.

"I'm sorry, but you can't be in here!" Dr. Glenn spoke quickly, nodding to the nurse who instead of trying to get Troy to leave, turned on her heels and left to room, to get what Gabriella assumed was security.

"Gabi," she heard him rush out. "I had to be here; I didn't want you to do this alone."

"She's not alone," Kevin responded harshly as he stepped closer to his wife.

"Troy maybe you should go," Anisah suggested, eyeing Dr. Glenn who looked impatient to start the procedure on a now numb and nervous Gabriella.

"I want him to stay!" Gabriella spoke up for the first time since he'd come in.

"What?! Gabriella…"

Kevin had started to protest against her wishes but she quickly shook her head. "He's important to me and if this is his baby, he has a right to be here."

"Gabriella we can only have two people in here with you," Dr. Glenn gently corrected.

Closing her eyes, Gabriella thought about asking Kevin to leave. She'd really wanted Troy here more than him but after everything he'd confessed to her before, how could she do that to him? Before she could make a decision, however, a strong and confident voice spoke up.

"I'll go, Gabi," Anisah said and Gabriella opened her eyes to look at her sister who stood with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"No…"

"Yes," She responded, squeezing her hand. "You need this. After all we've talked about and all you've been through I know you need this. Don't worry, I'll live. But don't expect to be in the delivery room when I have a kid," she joked.

Gabriella smiled up at her sister gratefully and watched as she quickly stripped herself of the scrubs she was wearing and handed them over to Troy. The nurse came back in with a burly security guard, but Dr. Glenn shook his head and Anisah held her hands up in innocent. "I'm leaving; don't get your panties in a twist." And then she disappeared with them out the door as Troy walked up to her side.

She instantly grabbed his hand and then turned to coax Kevin into taking her other hand. It was then that Dr. Glenn looked at Gabriella and she nodded a reassurance towards him. "Okay, you're going to feel a little bit of pressure…"

Hours later, Gabriella was back in her hospital room, after being sewed and stitched up and reunited with her sister as well as her mother, who'd arrived during the delivery.

10-15 minutes into the c-section, Gabriella, Kevin, and Troy were met with the sounds of a very irate crying baby girl. After giving Gabriella a chance to see her daughter, they rushed her out of the room to finish cleaning her off as well as close Gabriella up. They'd weighed her at 7 pounds 6 ounces, measured her at 16 inches long, brown hair, her eyes not yet opened, but still a perfectly healthy little girl. Then there was that little issue of getting DNA swabs from all three adults as well as testing the newborn baby girl herself. The results hadn't come back yet and neither had the baby.

"Do you think everything's okay?" Gabriella asked her mother worriedly. Troy, Kevin, and Anisah had gone to grab some food from the cafeteria, Troy and Kevin actually acting somewhat civil to each other as far as Gabriella's eyes could see when they left. Maybe it was the question hanging in the air that was changing so many demeanors lately.

"She'll be fine. They're just doing all the mandatory tests on her to make sure there's nothing they're missing and that she's absolutely fine, which she will be. She's perfect, sweetie."

Gabriella grinned, having though the same thing when she'd first laid eyes on her. She was perfect no matter who her father was, because the fact of the matter was it wasn't her baby girls fault, it was Gabriella's and she'd have to learn to live with the outcome as her consequences.

"I just…wished they'd hurry up you know. I want to know and most importantly I want her back here with me."

"Of course. The first couple of months you're never going to want to let her go," Mrs. Montez smiled at her eldest daughter. "At least until she starts screaming her head off and keeping you up all hours of the night. I had that problem with Anisah."

"What problem did you have with me?" Her sister questioned, reappearing with both men in tow.

"You were colic-y," Gabriella teased, while Anisah rolled her eyes. "Hope baby girl doesn't inherit that from her aunt."

"Out of all the things she could inherit from me, you wish that she doesn't get that?"

Instantly Gabriella felt her face fall in realization and she narrowed her eyes at her smirking sister. "Stay away from my kid."

"Only if you promise not to be one of those lame moms. If so I can't promise that I'll just turn her away when she comes to her cool aunt for advice."

Gabriella rolled her eyes, glancing over to Kevin as he took the seat next to her bed, in between the couch and her mother. She noticed Troy stayed standing near Anisah and out of the way, probably because he felt uncomfortable, but she wished he'd get over that.

"You okay?" She questioned her husband quietly, who in turn nodded back at her. Then she looked at Troy, their eyes connecting and speaking the unsaid.

"So I was thinking of a name!" Anisah spoke up. "I think you'll love it!"

"Okay?" Gabriella laughed.

"Anisah Nicole! Isn't it beautiful?" There was a silence that followed to which Anisah huffed. "Whatever."

"I like the name Kayleigh," Gabriella countered back. "Kayleigh Ann."

She watched her mother nod and turned to Kevin to see him smile and tell her he thought it was lovely. When they'd talked about baby names, they'd agreed that Gabriella could name their first and Kevin would name their second child. Now there probably wasn't going to be a second, but he didn't seem to be protesting her choice. It was when she'd turned to Troy however that she saw the smile on his face and she was instantly brought to remember.

_Gabriella giggled as Troy tickled her while they lay relaxing on the couch. "Stop it! Or you're going to make me pee my pants!"_

"_Eww!" He responded childishly, stopping his actions and welcoming the hit to his chest that she gave._

_When she straightened herself up, she turned to meet his gaze. "What are you looking at?"_

"_The most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he answered sincerely, not breaking eye contact with her._

_Instantly blushing, Gabriella looked down at their connected hands, spotting the sparkling diamond ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. "I still can't believe you want to marry me."_

"_Believe it. I'm going to marry you, Gabriella Montez and have many beautiful babies with you."_

_She laughed. "I hope not too many."_

_He shrugged as he still didn't take his eyes off her. "Maybe 2 or 3."_

_She nodded, meeting his eyes again. "Sounds good to me. I didn't you'd thought about children."_

"_With you."_

"_God! You make me feel like such a teenage girl."_

_He grinned. "I take it that's kind of a good thing?"_

"_Maybe. So back to this kid thing. You've thought about kids with me. Any names ever come to mind?"_

_Troy shrugged, finally breaking eye contact as he turned to look out the window for a second. Gabriella punched his shoulder, bringing his attention back to her. "Ow?"_

"_Come on! Have you thought about naming our future kids?"_

_He shrugged again. "I feel like I'm sharing too much. I don't want to look stupid."_

"_It's not stupid! I'm gonna be your wife, you can share this kind of stuff with me you know? I actually think it's incredibly sweet…and sexy too."_

"_Really?" He smirked, shifting his body to lean closer to her. Before he could get anywhere near her lips, she brought her hand up to his cheek, stopping his movements._

"_Tell me? Please?"_

_He sighed. "Kayleigh Ann. I thought about that one a lot for a girl." He instantly shrugged again when she was quiet. "It's just a thought though. It's not like I was expecting…"_

_She cut him off with a short and sweet kiss to the lips and when they pulled away he could see the smile on her as they made eye contact. "I think Kayleigh Ann Bolton would be the perfect name for our future daughter." And with that she brought her lips back to his._

Before either could say something about the memory they knew they were both recalling Dr. Glenn knocked and then walked back in the room, a nurse wheeling the newborn baby girl that was just being talked about in behind him.

"So, I've brought baby girl to her family and I also have some test results with me," he spoke as the nurse wheeled the baby over to the side of the bed and carefully picked her up to hand her off to Gabriella. "Does baby girl have a name yet?"

Gabriella smiled down at her sleeping daughter before looking back up with a nod to the doctor. "Kayleigh Ann," she responded softly, to which no one protested and the baby girl in Gabriella's arm shifted with a gurgle, kicking her little arms in legs. "I think she likes her name."

Dr. Glenn nodded. "While Kayleigh be taking her father's last name?"

It was then that Gabriella noted him writing down on what he assumed was her birth certificate. With a bite of her lip, Gabriella nodded. Dr. Glenn smiled before holding up the envelope that had the sealed fate of what her daughter's life would look like inside of it. Before he could hand the envelope to one of them, Gabriella stopped him. "Can you just read it Dr. Glenn?"

He glanced at her. "It's not normal policy, Mrs. Adams. For your privacy…"

She sighed. "I don't care about privacy any more. What's done is done and everyone in the room already knows. Just…read the results please."

He nodded and the room fell completely silent, the only sound of him ripping open the envelope and unfolding the documents inside. After a momentary pause, Gabriella wasn't the only one in the room nervous and anxious for the results.

"Well?"Anisah broke the silence.

Dr. Glenn glanced at the younger girl before turning back to the new mother on the bed. "Kayleigh Ann's last name is…"

* * *

**Cliffy! Mwahahaha! I didn't like the end of the chapter because I kinda wanted to tell you guys now, but you'll find out in the next chapter and I promise that will be out by Friday at the latest. So hopefully no one hunts me down before then, but I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please leave me a quick REVIEW letting me know what you thought as usual and until the next update stay happy, stay safe, and have a wonderful Labor Day (at least those of you in the States that celebrate it) and if you're not in the States and don't celebrate Labor Day, then just have a great Monday! (:**


	13. Chapter 12

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_Gabi," she heard him rush out. "I had to be here; I didn't want you to do this alone."_

"_She's not alone," Kevin responded harshly as he stepped closer to his wife._

"_Troy maybe you should go," Anisah suggested, eyeing Dr. Glenn who looked impatient to start the procedure on a now numb and nervous Gabriella._

"_I want him to stay!" Gabriella spoke up for the first time since he'd come in. _

"_What?! Gabriella…"_

_Kevin had started to protest against her wishes but she quickly shook her head. "He's important to me and if this is his baby, he has a right to be here."_

_**xx**_

"_I like the name Kayleigh," Gabriella countered back. "Kayleigh Ann."_

"_Come on! Have you thought about naming our future kids?"_

_He shrugged again. "I feel like I'm sharing too much. I don't want to look stupid."_

"_It's not stupid! I'm gonna be your wife, you can share this kind of stuff with me you know? I actually think it's incredibly sweet…and sexy too. Tell me? Please?"_

_He sighed. "Kayleigh Ann. I thought about that one a lot for a girl." He instantly shrugged again when she was quiet. "It's just a thought though. It's not like I was expecting…"_

_She cut him off with a short and sweet kiss to the lips and when they pulled away he could see the smile on her as they made eye contact. "I think Kayleigh Ann Bolton would be the perfect name for our future daughter."_

_**xx**_

"_Well?"Anisah broke the silence._

_Dr. Glenn glanced at the younger girl before turning back to the new mother on the bed. "Kayleigh Ann's last name is…"_

* * *

_**The truth is you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.**_

_**-Eminem**_

* * *

Chapter 12

Weeks later, Gabriella stood in the beautifully decorated room of her daughter, staring down at the month old as she slept peacefully in her crib. She didn't normally sleep in her crib, she slept in a bassinet beside Gabriella's bed, but being that it was the middle of the day, she was in her room. Hopefully, Gabriella would be able to get her into her own room within the next couple of months because it would give her more hours of sleep at night. But what she was really hoping was that soon enough Kayleigh would start sleeping through the night. Or at least longer than 3 hours at a time.

Life had changed a lot for Gabriella since giving birth. For the first 2 weeks after Kayleigh was born, she'd had a house full of people. If wasn't enough having a newborn, extras drove her crazy. Her mom and sister had stayed; her father had taken a week off and flown down. And before she'd even realized her grandmother was here too. She was grateful to have so many helping hands in her first weeks as a mother, but regardless of how helpful, it was refreshing to have her house back to herself.

Slowly walking away from the crib, Gabriella turned on the baby monitor and cracked the door before returning to her set up in the living room. Her laptop was sitting on the coffee table and she'd had paperwork next to it, hoping to work on some cases while she had some down time, but that was proving to be a bit difficult. Between dealing with Kayleigh and her own personal need to do other things, Gabriella was starting to understand why it was maternity leave and why everyone else had been so for her not doing a thing but relaxing.

Since she was in the house alone most of the day (other than Kayleigh) Gabriella had started to review cases, but found herself on Facebook, answering congratulations from distant family members and some people she wasn't even sure she knew, browsing Netflix, zoning out on boring daytime TV, and dozing off on the couch.

She yawned as she opened up a browser on her laptop, knowing now why her mother had told her to try to sleep while Kayleigh was sleeping herself, because she'd have no other time to do it. As long as Kayleigh was awake she wanted to be fed, changed, or entertained. It was stressful, there was no doubt about that, but she was sure she wouldn't give it up for anything. She enjoyed having a little person that she could care for, someone that depended on her, someone that could keep her company in the times she'd felt most alone.

The phone rang and Gabriella stretched over to the other side of the couch to answer it with a yawn.

"Well, clearly you haven't been listening to my advice," her mothers' voice came in over the line.

If Gabriella wasn't so tired, she was sure she would have rolled her eyes, but instead responded to her mother. "I'm tired, but not sleepy Mom. Why not be productive?"

"Because you've got a newborn. That's productive enough; you don't need to add anything else to that workload."

"She's a month old Mom, not exactly a newborn anymore."

"As long as she's still crying and not sleeping through the night, I'm considering that newborn stage."

"Mom, what's going to happen when I go back to work? I'm sure she'll still be a handful then, but I won't have a choice."

"I wish you wouldn't go back to work. You need to be home with her Gabriella. What are you gonna do, find a daycare to take her to?"

"If I have to. Mom, going back to work is not an option for me. If I had it my way, I'd stay home forever if that paid the bills, but I have to do something. Staying in this house is going to drive me crazy eventually. Kayleigh too."

"I did it and you and Anisah turned out found, as did I."

"It's just not the lifestyle for me, Mom."

"You make it seem like you'll be living in poverty. Your husband works. It's what he's doing now and he's already promised you he's going to help support you no matter what."

"Yeah," Gabriella responded half-heartedly.

"How's counseling going?"

The younger woman shrugged, even though her mother couldn't see through the phone. "We've only been going for two weeks; it hasn't really made a difference yet."

She could hear her mother clambering around on the other line, probably getting ready to cook something. "You have to give it time, sweetie. What matters is that you two are willing to work toward fixing it right?"

Gabriella shrugged again. "I guess. Look mom, I have to go."

"I hope you're going to take a nap," the older woman scolded gently, only worrier about her eldest child.

"I'll think about it. Love you."

"Love you too, tell Kayleigh Grandma misses her for me."

"Sure, Mom," Gabriella answered with an eye rolled before hanging up the phone. She hated getting on the phone and having her mother lecture her about what she should do and what would be best for her. She could make those decisions on her own. Of course, sometimes her lack of was what landed her in situations like these, but she was a grown woman, she wanted to be treated like one.

Before she could get up and go to the kitchen to make some lunch like she'd intended, the phone rang again. With a groan, she answered.

"Well hello to you too, my darling big sister," Anisah's chipper voice came through the phone.

"What do you want?"

"I see who just got off the phone with Mom," the younger sibling laughed.

"Hmm," Gabriella answered, leaning back to lay on the couch, her lunch plans forgotten. "I wish she'd stop."

"She means best."

"By lecturing me about how to be a good mother? Isn't that something that I should learn on my own? Shouldn't she have faith in me?"

"She does Gab, but her first child just had her first child. It means something to her. She's gonna pester you until I have kids or until you have another."

"One of which I'm sure isn't gonna happen for at least another 4 years and is the other ever gonna happen?"

Anisah scoffed. "Haha, so hilarious. So how's my favorite niece?"

"Only niece," Gabriella corrected. "She's sleeping."

"Doesn't that mean you should be too?"

"OH MY GOD! Please stop talking to Mom."

Gabriella could hear her sister laugh. "She's Mom, Gabi, that's not possible." There was a sudden voice in the background on Anisah's end and Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Are you at work?"

After a silent pause where Anisah assumed she was talking to someone else. "Yeah, why?"

"Why didn't you just call when you got off?"

"Because I'm not doing anything."

"Uhm, how about you try working?"

"Wait for it," came the younger sisters' reply, which caused Gabriella to let out a weak laugh. "You sound extremely tired."

"Hmm, I am."

"Okay well then let me get back to doing nothing and you sleep okay?"

"Sure…"

"Gab, seriously. I think Mom knows what she's talking about on this one."

"Okay, okay," Gabriella responded, body half limp on the couch, already almost sleep anyway. "I'll talk to you."

"Kiss my baby cakes for me," Anisah exclaimed before there was a dial tone that Gabriella barely heard because she'd drifted off.

"Babe…Gab…Gabriella." She was shaken awake and jumped up to look into her husbands' face. Gabriella glanced around, seeing that her computer was open on the table; the phone was sitting on the couch, dial tone beeping because she'd never hung up. She glanced at Kevin to see he still had his work clothes on, but his tie was hanging over his shoulder and his hair was messed up like he'd run his hands through it over a thousand times.

"Hmm, how long have I been sleeping?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I just came in."

"Where's Kayleigh?"

"In her crib, where you left her. I checked on her before I woke you. She was sleeping."

"Still?"

He nodded. "Seems like you got a good nap out of it huh?"

She sat up fully as he stood to enter the kitchen, opening the fridge to find food. "Yeah. How was work?"

"Work. How was being home?"

"Exhausting. More than you'd think."

"I can imagine. But you know I'd switch places with you any day."

"Yeah, well now would be nice," she snapped.

He paused to stare at her for a moment. "You speak to him today?"

She shook her head. "When was the last time you spoke to him?"

"Her birthday."

"Have you thought about calling him?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. What exactly am I supposed to say to him Kevin?"

"Whatever is that you aren't saying to me."

She sighed. "Do we have to do this now?"

"Why not?"

"Because I'm tired and you're tired and I just really don't want to have this discussion right now. What happened is done with Kevin. I can't go back and change it, any of it, so we'll just have to deal with it. We seemed to be doing pretty fine."

He scoffed as he reached up into the cabinet and pulled down a bottle of Whiskey. "If this is what you consider fine."

She stared at him with disgust as he poured him a glass, downed it, and then pour himself another. "Well maybe if you'd stop drinking your problems away…"

"Please, do not start with that shit tonight, Gabriella," he warned, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Oh so you can bring up Troy all you want despite my feelings, but when it comes to how you've changed you bare to discuss it?"

"Why the fuck do you think I've changed? My wife is fucking in love with another man! Excuse for not being happy about that."

"You're the one who said you wanted to fix this."

"And it's so fucking obvious that you don't!" He yelled back at her. There was the sudden sound of crying faintly from the baby monitor on the coffee table. She'd probably woken from the loud voices. "Go take care of her," he muttered.

Gabriella didn't move her feet, staring at him. "She's yours Kevin, what more could you fucking ask for?!"

"FOR ALL THE PRETENDING TO STOP!" He screamed, picking up the class and smashing it to the floor, a move that didn't fault Gabriella at all. "IF YOU WANNA FUCKING BE WITH HIM, THEN GO DO IT, BUT DON'T SPARE MY FEELINGS."

"I'm sorry that I was trying to make this work so that you could be a father to your daughter. Believe me if I knew it would be like this I wouldn't have bothered," she said before heading up the stairs to comfort their child.

Kevin watched her until his disappeared, hearing her soothing their daughter through the baby monitor. He shook his head, grabbing another glass from the cabinet to fill up again. Kayleigh may have been his, but he felt as distant from her as he did from his wife.

He downed another glass and then abandoned it, taking the bottle with him as he perched himself on the couch, listening to Gabriella and Kayleigh over the monitor, wishing that his life had turned out different from what it was, knowing that his wife was upstairs secretly wishing the same.

* * *

**HA! I said it would be out by Friday and it's Friday night! (: So I finished the story and even wrote an epilouge and am ahead so far in all my classes so I've got pretty much a free weekend to write for Band vs. Love and of course do laundry! haha laundry in college is fun! So wish me luck and I'll most likely try to update BvsL on Sunday or Monday at the latest. REVIEW!**


	14. Chapter 13

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

_The phone rang and Gabriella stretched over to the other side of the couch to answer it with a yawn._

"_Well, clearly you haven't been listening to my advice," her mothers' voice came in over the line._

_If Gabriella wasn't so tired, she was sure she would have rolled her eyes, but instead responded to her mother. "I'm tired, but not sleepy Mom. Why not be productive?"_

"_Because you've got a newborn. That's productive enough; you don't need to add anything else to that workload."_

_**xx**_

"_Why the fuck do you think I've changed? My wife is fucking in love with another man! Excuse for not being happy about that."_

"_You're the one who said you wanted to fix this."_

"_And it's so fucking obvious that you don't!" He yelled back at her. There was the sudden sound of crying faintly from the baby monitor on the coffee table. She'd probably woken from the loud voices. "Go take care of her," he muttered._

_Gabriella didn't move her feet, staring at him. "She's yours Kevin, what more could you fucking ask for?!"_

"_FOR ALL THE PRETENDING TO STOP!" He screamed, picking up the class and smashing it to the floor, a move that didn't fault Gabriella at all. "IF YOU WANNA FUCKING BE WITH HIM, THEN GO DO IT, BUT DON'T SPARE MY FEELINGS."_

"_I'm sorry that I was trying to make this work so that you could be a father to your daughter. Believe me if I knew it would be like this I wouldn't have bothered."_

* * *

_**In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.**_

_**-Robert Frost**_

* * *

Chapter 13

Gabriella sat in the dark wooden rocking chair that matched the shade of the rest of the furniture, Kayleigh in her arms, eyes staring back up at her mother, but yet half closed as she started to drift off. She stretched her tiny arms over her face as her mouth made an O and a tiny yawn came out. Gabriella couldn't help but smile at the child in her arms as she hummed a tune that soon turned into full out singing.

**See you sleeping on the ground  
See you screaming with no sound  
When your blanket starts to wear  
I'll be there  
See them peeking every night  
Momma's beaten don't know why  
When your tears begin to shed  
I'll be there  
In those times when you feel all alone  
Forced to find your way through worlds unknown  
Look ahead and don't be scared  
I'll be there**

**I'll be there through the rough winds and rain and ice  
I'll be there when the night falls and troubles rise  
I'll be there when you need me  
No matter what how or when  
My friend  
I'll be there**

**See them bleeding no more smiles  
Goodbye letters on the ground  
When no one will spare their ears  
I'll be there  
When your back's up on the wall  
Chronic failure you've been called  
When you feel there's no escape  
I'll be there**

Gabriella noted briefly as Kayleigh's eyes came to a final close. She could no longer see the hazel brown with specs of green that almost identically matched her father's eyes. But that didn't stop her from continuing her song.

**I'll be there through the rough winds and rain and ice  
I'll be there when the night falls and troubles rise  
I'll be there when you need me  
No matter what how or when  
My friend  
I'll be there**

**Whenever you're faced with what  
You feel like you can't bare  
Call on me and I'll be  
Beside you until the end  
Lift your head up and stand tall  
Promise I won't let you fall  
When you reach I will extend  
I'll be there**

**I'll be there through the rough winds and rain and ice  
I'll be there when the night falls and troubles rise  
I'll be there if you need me  
No matter what how or when  
My friend  
I'll be there through the rough winds and rain and ice  
I'll be there when the night falls and troubles rise  
I'll be there when you need me  
No matter what how or when  
My friend  
I'll be there**

When she finally stopped singing, Gabriella was sure Kayleigh was sleep and moved to place her in her crib. It would be the first actual night she was sleeping in her room rather than next to her parents' bed, and Gabriella was a bit nervous, but knew that the baby monitor would help ease those nerves.

After setting her in the crib and making sure she was okay and all things were in their right spot, Gabriella turned to leave the room and was shocked to see the tired face of her husband at the door. Silently walking past him, she eased the door to a crack before walking to their bedroom without uttering a single word to him. He did follow her, however and closed the bedroom door behind him when he entered.

"We need to talk," was the only thing he'd said. Gabriella looked at him briefly before grabbing her night clothes and heading into the bathroom.

When she didn't respond or seem to acknowledge the fact that he'd even spoken, Kevin followed behind her into the bathroom, staring at her in the mirror as she pulled her hair up and then proceeded to wash her face. "Did you hear me?" He forced out, trying not to sound angry.

"About what Kevin?"

"About the other night."

Gabriella instantly shook her head. "I really don't want to get into this again."

"We can't just ignore it! We have to figure this out!"

"Figure what out?! There's nothing to figure out!"

"Gabriella you don't love me…"

"Why would you say that? Why do you think that? When have I ever said that?"

"You don't have to say it, it's so obvious."

"Kevin…"

"No! Damn it! I can't sit here and pretend like this anymore. You don't love me, so why are we living like this? Why are we acting as if everything is okay when it isn't? It's far from okay."

"Kevin, I'm trying okay. I want to make this work," Gabriella answered, her voice low.

There was a pause as he looked back at her before he sighed. "Why?" He asked, suddenly. "Why do you love me?"

"…What kind of question is that?"

"It's a valid question, Gabriella, just answer it."

She shook her head. "I love you because you're my husband."

"No…"

"What do you mean no?"

"Why did you marry me?"

"Because you asked me to! And I said yes!"

"Why'd you say yes?"

Gabriella sighed. "Are you really doing this right now?"

"Why'd you say yes?"

"Because believe it or not, I _do _love you!"

Kevin scoffed, running a hand down his face. "You still haven't answered my question."

Gabriella instantly threw up her hands in frustration. "What do you want from me? I love you Kevin! I've stated that more than enough times, why should I have to explain my reasons?"

"Because I can explain my reasons!" He replied, voice raising to levels that scared Gabriella. "I love you because you're smart and extremely determined to do what you want. You never give up and you know what you want and you go for it, no matter what. And despite what you think, you're extremely good at what you do. You're a good friend, a good mother, and even knowing that you cheated on me, I still want to be with you more than anything! If that doesn't prove that I'm in love with you, then I don't know what will. And the fact that you can't even explain why you love me back…the fact that I'm still standing here trying to plead with you should prove that."

Gabriella glanced into his red, tear filled eyes and then down at her hands. "Well then I'm not sure what to tell you."

When Kevin didn't respond, but only looked at her, Gabriella took that as her chance to make her escape into the bathroom, wondering just what the hell this meant for her now.

"Troy, you can't sit in the apartment forever," Chad spoke to his non respondent best friend as he walked around the living room, picking up random articles of clothing off the floor and chairs. "I mean what about work? You have to pay the bills. And you need socialization too."

But Troy stared straight ahead. He'd been on the couch in that same spot for several days, wearing the same black sweatpants and ratty t-shirt from 3 days ago, eyes red, hair ruffled, and a bit of 5 o'clock shadow starting to form around his jaw.

"Hey!" Chad called loudly, getting Troy's attention. He turned his head slightly to his friend, who just shook his head. "Did you hear a word I just said?"

Troy shrugged and Chad sighed. "Get up."

No movement.

"I'm not fucking playing with you anymore, Troy. Get your smelly ass of this couch! Go get in the shower, shave your god damn face, and get out into the world like none of this shit ever happened."

Troy turned back to the wall. "But it did happen."

"SO WHAT?! Troy this is getting out of hand. It's not the end of the world. You knew when Gabriella got engaged that this was what it was going to be like. You can't expect a pregnancy and possibly being a father to change all that. She's happily married with a baby now. You have to let this go! You chose life without her and she moved on, now you have to or you're gonna be stuck on this forever."

Without another word, Troy stood from the couch and moved past Chad into his bedroom, causing a sigh of relief from his friend at the sound of him turning on the shower water.

Chad dropped to the couch in desperation, letting the clothes in his hands fall onto the cushion next to him as he put his face in his hands.

About 10 minutes later, with the faint sound of the shower water running in the background, Chad heard a light knock on the apartment door. Standing, he went to open the door, wondering who would be visiting Troy since he'd been a social outcast for the last month.

"Chad." The small voice came from the beautiful Latina standing in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged in response. "I could ask you the same thing."

Gabriella bit her lip nervously, pulling on the bottom of her Stanford sweatshirt that she'd paired with an old pair of light washed jeans. "Is he here?"

"In the shower."

"How has he been?"

"You and I both know, you know the answer to that question."

She sighed. "I have to talk to him."

Chad shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. Gabriella, he's been a mess and you being here is just going to throw him back on to a funk on that couch."

"Chad…I have to do this please. I need to talk to him. I made a mistake and I need to fix it."

"Yeah, we know that already. You didn't mean to sleep…"

Gabriella cut him off with a shake as she closed her eyes. "Not that mistake."

And when she looked up and her chocolate brown eyes met his own brown, Chad instantly knew which mistake she'd been referring to. "Are you sure?"

Gabriella nodded without a word.

"I'm serious, Gabriella. You have to be sure this is what you want. You can play mind games with him anymore."

"I'm not here to play game, Chad. I want Troy."

"Why now?"

She stopped to look away, avoiding his eye contact. "I love him," she whispered, and much to both her and Chad's shock, there was another person that heard her whisper.

"You shouldn't have come here."

* * *

**Okay so I know it was supposed to be BvsL today, but I'm still working on it (for those of you who are reading it) and I don't want to post too many chapters before I finish it cuz then it'll take forever to finish. But after I posted on Friday I was having some major laptop/printer issues so due to being on the phone with tech support all weekend I was able to multitask and get homework done but unfortunately that meant my time on the laptop was pretty short.**

**Good thing is Monday's are pretty chill for me, I have a class at 9 and then I don't have a class again until 430 so I've been in this room since lunch writing (you're welcome) and I would have something out for BvsL by Friday, but I really want to finish this story so I can focus solely on BvsL.**

**So excuse me if you were waiting on that update, but at least I hope you enjoyed this one and considering it's already done, I might just post again tomorrow, just depends on my time. Let me know what you think in a REVIEW! and I will read them later when I'm done working out (free gym membership oh yeah!)**


	15. Chapter 14

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_We need to talk," was the only thing he'd said. Gabriella looked at him briefly before grabbing her night clothes and heading into the bathroom._

"_Kevin…"_

"_No! Damn it! I can't sit here and pretend like this anymore. You don't love me, so why are we living like this? Why are we acting as if everything is okay when it isn't? It's far from okay."_

"_Kevin, I'm trying okay. I want to make this work," Gabriella answered, her voice low._

_There was a pause as he looked back at her before he sighed. "Why?" He asked, suddenly. "Why do you love me?"_

_**xx**_

"_I'm serious, Gabriella. You have to be sure this is what you want. You can play mind games with him anymore."_

"_I'm not here to play game, Chad. I want Troy."_

"_Why now?"_

_She stopped to look away, avoiding his eye contact. "I love him," she whispered, and much to both her and Chad's shock, there was another person that heard her whisper._

"_You shouldn't have come here._

* * *

_**Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.**_

_**-John F. Kennedy**_

* * *

Chapter 14

Gabriella breathed as Troy appeared behind Chad's left shoulder, staring back at her with a mixture of hurt and confusion on his face. "Troy…"

"You shouldn't have come here."

Taking her chances, she stepped forward, only for him to take a tentative step back. "I need to talk to you."

Troy instantly shook his head. "I don't want to talk to you."

"It's not about wanting anymore, I NEED to do this, I HAVE to."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"There's plenty to talk about."

Troy scoffed. "Like what? Like how you had sex with me on your wedding night, like how you kept being pregnant from me for 5 months? Maybe how you freaked out because I wanted to know the truth? Or are we talking about how the father of your child is thankfully your husband and now you can go run off and live with him like a fucking happily ever after fairy tale? Tell me which one, Gabriella just so I can be up to speed!"

Shaking her head, Gabriella looked to Chad, who nodded and quickly disappeared out of the apartment door, leaving the two alone. "Troy, it's…nothing is how you think it is okay?"

"What are you and Kevin having problems now? Does he not want her?"

"Troy, I made a mistake okay. And I'm not talking about sleeping with you, I made a mistake when I married Kevin. I was stupid to think that marrying him would make me forget about you, but I was wrong, completely wrong."

When he didn't open his mouth to speak, she continued. "I love you. If you think that ever changed, then I'm sorry for making it seem that way, but I was hurt. You couldn't commit to me and I wanted more than anything to be with you but…"

"You knew how I was," he interrupted with a frown.

She shrugged. "I thought maybe I could change you. I thought falling in love would change things, but I felt so much like I was forcing you to make a decision you didn't want to make."

"Because I didn't want to get married! Gabriella, I'm not going to lie, I wanted to be with you but I was also scared to death. I've never been like that with anyone since…"

"I know," she stopped him. "But why was it so hard for you? You said you loved me and you wanted to be with me."

"I did…I still do."

"Then what's the problem? Troy, I'm sorry for everything. I truly am and I didn't mean to make these past few months hard on you, but here I am. I'm done with Kevin, I can't be with him anymore, not when my heart is telling me that I want you."

"I can't marry you, Gabriella."

"It's fine," she said, reaching for his hands. "I don't want you to marry me, I just want to be with you; anyway I can. And I know you want to be with me, at least I hope you still do. I hope you can forgive me and take me back and deal with all my flaws just the way I dealt with yours…"

"Is that what this is about? Payback?"

"No! God, no! Troy I was afraid to take you how you were and I wanted what everyone else had and I wanted it with you! I wanted to get married and have a big house, and us to both have jobs we loved and to also be madly in love with each other and to sometime have that big house full of kids. I wanted it all with you, but after a while I realized it wasn't what you wanted."

"How can you say that?"

"Troy, you pulled away from me! You wouldn't call, you stayed out all night, and you disappeared for days at a time. I felt distant from you. I felt like that night you proposed to me, you only did it to make me happy, but…what about making yourself happy?"

Troy sighed. "Isn't that what love entitles? Making the person you love happy?"

She shook her head. "Not if you're not happy with me. I didn't want to push you. I loved you, but I didn't want to force you, but at the same time it was what I wanted."

"And I was willing to give it to you too," he snapped at her. "You just couldn't keep your mouth closed."

Gabriella paused. "Excuse me?"

He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. "Gabriella, she broke me. You knew that, you knew how I felt and yet, you changed me, you helped me and I loved you…I love you. But that night…you made me feel like I wasn't doing enough. I was trying everything to give you what you wanted and you told me…you told me that you didn't want to get married if I wasn't 100% into it. And I wasn't! I don't know why it had taken me so long, but I realized I couldn't give you what you wanted. So the best thing to do was to let you find someone to make you happy."

"You make me happy."

"I caused you pain."

"Troy…"

"Gabriella, I wasn't ready. You didn't push me. You were ready and I wasn't. So the most logical explanation was to let you find someone who was as ready as you were."

"That doesn't make any sense…"

"It made all the sense in the world. I couldn't let you deal with her leftovers. I couldn't give you the broken man she'd left behind. I will never be enough for you."

Gabriella shook her head, gripping his hand that was in hers tighter. "You are not her leftovers. Troy Bolton, you are much more than you think you are." She hesitated, contemplating if she should let the name slip from her mouth. "Rebecca does not define who you are. She's an idiot for not seeing what she left behind and I hate that she makes you feel this way, but, baby you were it for me! You always were it for me, since day one. She has nothing to do with who you are with me and how happy you make me."

"I can't give you anything…"

"You give me everything! I know I should have been more understanding, more patient, but the fact that you love me to some degree, I can wait for that 100%. It's okay that you have to get over it, I can wait, and I should have waited. I pushed you away and you ran and I'm so sorry for that, but I'm standing in front of you and I'm telling you, it's you. I want you and only you and I'm willing to give it all up if I can just have you back. If I could make up for mistakes and turn the clock back. It's always been you."

"Kevin…"

"He's never compared to you Troy. I fooled myself into thinking that moving on would make me feel better but obviously it's not working anymore and I'm tired of trying to force it to work."

"I can't ask you to give that up for me. You have a husband and a daughter. You need to be happy with him."

"But I'm not happy with him! If I stay with him, I will never be happy. What's the sense in both of us being happy without each other when we can be happy together? Please, Troy."

It was then that Gabriella, broke the barrier, pressing her body close to his in a tight hug as tears streamed down her cheek. Troy could feel her hands reaching desperately to pull him as close as possible, but they were already pressed tightly against each other. "Please," she whimpered, her face buried into his chest as she clung to him, wetting his shirt instantly.

"Gabriella…"

"Troy, I want this, I'm begging you…"

But he cut her off, forcing himself to peal her off of him. "I can't…"

"Troy," she cried, her tears coming full force now.

"Gabriella, you have everything I could ever want for you. I can do this to you. I can't tear apart your family and ask you to stay with me."

"Stop being selfish!"

"I'm doing this so I'm not selfish. Go home, Gabriella."

"Troy, no…"

He gently but quietly, steered her body towards the door, trying hard to ignore the tears she was shedding in desperation.

"I love you," he said pressing a kiss to her forehead before closing the apartment door and leaving her standing out in the hall, her sobs still being heard as he walked back to his bedroom.

* * *

**Guys, you're pretty great! I'm glad some of you understand my decision to not make the baby Troy's and in the end it will all work out, I promise. It just has to work up to it. The next chapter is actually the last and then after that I'll go ahead and post the epilogue and then it'll be on to BvsL like I promised before. Hope this chapter wasn't too bad and once again just let me know what you guys are thinking. Next chapter will be out tomorrow night after class if I'm not busy or Friday morning after I go to the gym. REVIEW**

**Oh and for those of you who are in the U.S. or those of you who aren't in the U.S. but still care, please be safe and know that we are remembering and praying for those loved ones lost 12 years ago today. 9.11.01**


	16. Chapter 15

Fade Into the Background

_**Previously**_

"_You shouldn't have come here."_

_Taking her chances, she stepped forward, only for him to take a tentative step back. "I need to talk to you."_

_Troy instantly shook his head. "I don't want to talk to you."_

"_It's not about wanting anymore, I NEED to do this, I HAVE to."_

"_There's nothing to talk about."_

"_There's plenty to talk about."_

_**xx**_

"_Troy, I made a mistake okay. And I'm not talking about sleeping with you, I made a mistake when I married Kevin. I was stupid to think that marrying him would make me forget about you, but I was wrong, completely wrong."_

"_I can't give you anything…"_

"_You give me everything. I want you and only you and I'm willing to give it all up if I can just have you back. If I could make up for mistakes and turn the clock back. It's always been you."_

"_Kevin…"_

"_He's never compared to you Troy. I fooled myself into thinking that moving on would make me feel better but obviously it's not working anymore and I'm tired of trying to force it to work."_

"_I can't ask you to give that up for me. You have a husband and a daughter. You need to be happy with him."_

_It was then that Gabriella, broke the barrier, pressing her body close to his in a tight hug as tears streamed down her cheek. Troy could feel her hands reaching desperately to pull him as close as possible, but they were already pressed tightly against each other. "Please," she whimpered, her face buried into his chest as she clung to him, wetting his shirt instantly._

_But he cut her off, forcing himself to peal her off of him. "I can't…"_

"_Troy," she cried, her tears coming full force now._

_He gently but quietly, steered her body towards the door, trying hard to ignore the tears she was shedding in desperation._

"_I love you," he said pressing a kiss to her forehead before closing the apartment door and leaving her standing out in the hall, her sobs still being heard as he walked back to his bedroom._

* * *

_**Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.**_

_**-Lao Tzu**_

* * *

Chapter 15

3 weeks.

3 more weeks had gone by.

3 more weeks of wishing she had something she didn't.

3 more weeks of unhappiness.

3 more weeks without Troy.

Gabriella glanced around the half empty bedroom in wonder. Wonder of what had happened in life? What had she done to put her where she was now? And what could she possibly do to fix it?

But there was her problem. There was nothing she could do to fix what she'd torn apart. Despite the other factors that had played into her current situation, ultimately this was all her fault. If she had maybe not pushed the love of her life. If she had enough sense to not give up and let him walk out the door when he did. If she'd thought to not lead him as well as herself on by hooking up with his last minute. Maybe if she'd been more cautious and surer of what she'd wanted, Gabriella wouldn't have to wipe at her tears every night while trying to make everything okay again.

Touching the dresser that supported a picture of a happy Gabriella and Kevin on their wedding day, she quickly moved over to the nightstand that used to hold his iHome. The same nightstand where he'd take off his watch before bed and the exact same one where'd he set his wedding ring down before taking a shower.

Now all that sat on the nightstand now was said wedding ring. Only this time, it wasn't there temporarily. The drawers below the nightstand were empty as well. In fact they looked identical to the left side of the dresser. And in the bathroom, the right side of the sink was bare, and the essentials that were stored in the cabinet underneath had been cleaned out.

His clothes weren't here, his personals weren't here, and he wasn't here.

But Gabriella wasn't sad that Kevin had decided to move out. Him moving out had made things better. She didn't have to argue with him at all hours of the day. She didn't have to see the hurt on his face every time he looked at her. And she most definitely did not have to witness his distance from their child.

He'd left just 4 days ago, with a promise that they'd get everything all settled between the two of them. He'd told her that he just wanted her to be happy, despite how much she could see it was hurting him, but she wasn't exactly going to stop him. Pretending was getting her nowhere, so why not just stop?

He'd also made it clear that he did want to see Kayleigh. But he knew it would be hard, leaving and coming back when he wasn't going to be there to stay. He wanted to be more active in her life, more of a father than he'd been and he was confident that they could be civil enough to co-parent their bundle of joy.

Kevin leaving wasn't what was hurting Gabriella. Because that was best, it would help things get better. What bothered her was that the person she wanted to fill his place, the person she wanted to put his belongings in those empty drawers, and occupy the other side of the bed with her a night; well that person wanted nothing to do with her.

Gabriella wanted to believe that Troy was staying away from her for a good reason. A good reason that revolved around making her happy, but a part of her knew that he didn't want to get close to her again. The last time he'd done that, she'd left him to be with her husband.

Hearing a mild cry low over the baby monitor, Gabriella broke herself from her thoughts to stroll down the hall to Kayleigh's room, picking up the squirming child.

She'd grown a lot since her birth. Now weighing in at 8 pounds, 19 ounces, she had almost a full head of hair. She was smart too. She was well aware of who both Gabriella and Kevin were in relation to her; you could tell by the smile on her face when she saw them. The now 3 month old was giggling and especially loved to kick her little legs.

"Hi, baby girl," Gabriella cooed as Kayleigh gurgled a hello to her mother. Placing a hand to the back of her head, Gabriella pressed her against her chest seeing how she hadn't learned to hold her head up yet. "Are you hungry?" She asked as if the baby was going to answer her. Kayleigh just looked up at her mother with her fingers stuck in her mouth, drool dripping out the side onto the big Gabriella was thankful she'd put on her during her nap. "Let's get you something to eat."

Carrying her downstairs, Gabriella glanced briefly at the back screen door that she had pulled open to get some fresh air into the house. She walked over to the play set that was set up in the living room in front of the TV and set Kayleigh in her little bouncy swing and turned on the television, placing the little play plastic keys on the swing's attached tray.

Walking into the kitchen, she quickly pulled out a bottle of breast milk, turning to the microwave to heat up the bottle. While watching the bottle turn, Gabriella zoned out, completely missing the back door opening followed by the sound of footsteps entering her kitchen.

"Smells like baby in here," a voice commented, causing her to jump and turn around to face a smirking Chad.

"What the hell?! Chad you about gave me a heart attack!"

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

As he walked over to give her a hug, she pushed his shoulder. "You can't do that! I have a child to take care of you know. You can't send me to an early grave."

"I wouldn't think of it. Where's the munchkin?"

Gabriella nodded her head towards the living room. "I'm making her a bottle, you can feed her when it's ready if you want."

She watched him grin before strolling into the living room as she turned to open the microwave door and check on the temperature of the bottle.

"Hi," she heard another voice again, startling her to the point of her dropping the plastic bottle on the floor, the top popping off and milk spilling all over her foot, the floor, and the bottom of her cabinets.

"Shit!" She glanced down at the spilt milk before looking to face the person who had scared her again, expecting it to be Chad, but was shocked to see the face of the person she'd be thinking about so much. "What…why are you here?"

"I wanted to see you…apologize."

She was silent, not sure if there was anything else he wanted to say, but also at a loss for words.

"I was a bit…harsh the other day. I…I don't want to do this to you again."

"Do what, Troy?"

He shrugged. "Hurt you. I did it once and I wound up chasing you away and…I'm just scared of doing it again. I want to be with you but I want you to be happy and sometimes I fear that as soon as we get to a point of happiness, I might mess it up again like last time."

Gabriella shook her head. "This is not all your fault, Troy. If you're going to blame someone, you should blame both of us. Neither of us made it easier for the other to cope or move on and if we had just not acted so stubborn…"

"Maybe we'd be in a different place right now," he finished for her. "But I pushed you…"

"Would you stop saying that?! Troy, that night, my wedding night, I chose to have sex with you. It was something that I wanted and I wanted it with you. Don't doubt that, because I have no regrets about that night whatsoever except for who I went home with."

Troy looked down at his feet, not being able to meet her gaze, but she stepped closer, making his head pop up. He watched silently as she grabbed his hand and to her surprise he didn't pull back like she'd expected.

"I love Kevin. That much is true because he was there for me when I needed and wanted someone. He took care of me and he showed me how much he cared in that way." She watched Troy look down again, but squeezed his hand, making him face her again. "But my heart, no matter who I may move on to in life, will always belong to you. Whether you want to believe or not is up to you, but I'm telling you the truth. I will NEVER be able to get over you. You are my first love and I pray you'd be my last, but if that doesn't happen, I just want you to know."

"Kevin…"

"Doesn't matter. He's moved out. We're getting a divorce."

"And Kayleigh?"

"Is his. He has full parental rights to see her whenever he pleases and I have no problem with that. Just because we didn't work out doesn't mean she needs to suffer because of it."

"Gabriella, I can't…"

"You can't what? Hurt me? You've already done that. Love me? You've done that too. Troy, no matter what excuses you come up with, I will have one better. I want you. I love you. It hasn't changed and it won't ever change. You could tell me you hate me, you could beat the shit out of me, you could walk out the door right now with a promise that you'll never come back, but the one thing that would stay the same is that I will continue to love you. I can't stop that and honestly, I don't want to. It's always been you."

"It always will be you," he spoke back to her. "But I…"

Gabriella stopped him, grabbing his chin and pulling her lips hard against his own. "Stop fighting this." And she kissed him hard again. "Stop making excuses." Another kiss. "I love you." Kiss. "I want you." Kiss. "You're it for me." Kiss. "Please," she begged. "I've begged once, don't make me do it again. You can do this; we can do this."

She went to kiss him again, satisfied that this time, he kissed her back desperately, needing to feel her as much as she needed to feel him. "I love you," she whimpered in between another kiss. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Pulling away and resting his forehead against hers, eyes closed and breathing heavy. "I love you too."

"Promise me," she said and Troy instantly shook his head, knowing what she meant. "Promise me, Troy. I don't care."

"I do! I can't hurt you…"

"You won't! Damn it, Troy!" She grabbed the back of his head pulling him in for another kiss as she pressed herself tighter to him. "I'm not letting you leave until you promise me. Promise me we can work on it; that we can try. If it doesn't work out, I don't have a choice but to let go, but God damn it, at least have enough faith in us to try. Third time's the charm right?"

"Third?" he asked after a long pause, to which she nodded whispering about the wedding night and he cracked a smile. "Third time," he agreed nodding.

Pulling him to her again, she couldn't contain the smile. "I love you, Troy Bolton. You are my world, my everything, and you always have been and I was so so stupid to ever give that up to be with another man. Can you ever forgive me?"

He nodded, staring at her lips. "We can work on it."

And after that, no words were spoken.

* * *

**Hey! Last chapter guys and then after this is an epilogue! I hope you enjoyed it although I felt I kind of rushed this last chapter but idk you may think differently. Let me know what you think in a REVIEW, but just a quick message abut some reviews that I got earlier today, regarding the last chapter.**

**Let me just say that I love hearing what you guys think and I like being critiqued on my writing, but I want you to know that not all stories are going to to end with a happily ever after. Sometimes they're going to be stories you don't like the way they end or that don't go your way, but what can you do? I've experienced it myself and its frustrating when you want one thing to happen but it doesn't, but if you don't like it, I'm sorry but I prefer you not read. I don't need to know how upset it made you or to read PMs with long rants about personal opinions. Just stop reading because I like reading thoughtful critiques, not "I don't like this because things didn't turn out the way I wanted it to". Appreciate that the author wrote a story for you to read in the first place. You can't always get what you want, thats life.**

**Anyway if you have a review that will be useful to me as far as improving my writing or something that will change the overall outcome of a story for the better, please share. If you want to complain about how turned off you are or how the ending doesn't suit your standards then please take your reviews somewhere else.**


	17. Epilogue

Fade Into the Background

Epilogue

4 years.

That's how long she'd gotten accustomed to her new life. Gabriella was happily raising her daughter, sharing custody of Kayleigh with her birth father. She'd gone back to work, becoming even more successful at everything she did.

But most importantly, the past 4 years gave her a chance to reunite with the one and only person she was meant to be with.

That day with Troy had started a new beginning for the two of them. Rather than start off where they left off, they started completely over.

In order to have a fresh beginning, Gabriella made the conscious decision to sell the house, and move Kayleigh and herself into an apartment that was big enough for just the two of them. It was just a coincidence that said apartment happened to be no farther than 10 minutes from Troy's own apartment.

Kevin had immediately gone about getting the paperwork for a divorce and they both sat down to discuss splitting things up equal between the two, including time with Kayleigh. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't as difficult as Gabriella expected it to be and within 9 months from the day they first sat down to file, they were officially divorced. Gabriella had gone back to using her own last name, but decided it was only fair for her daughter to carry her father's last name.

Things were easier for the two of them divorced. After the way they acted during the last couple months of their marriage, being divorced was definitely a change for the better and they were getting along more than they had before. It was good that after all the drama, they could at least settle a few things hassle-free.

Moving from the house to the apartment had sparked a big change in Gabriella's attitude. Of course, a majority of that change had to do with having Troy back in her life, Gabriella was grateful that she could have a fresh start with pretty much everything. And although, she and Troy were well on their way to making amends, Gabriella knew that her home life and her family most definitely came first.

She spent Monday-Thursday working at the law firm 8-4, making sure she got back in enough time to pick Kayleigh up from daycare as well as spend an ample amount of time with her before the end of the day. Her weekends were spent primarily with her daughter and on the occasion Troy.

He'd settled back into his own routine as well, going back to work and actually having more of a personality to get through the day rather than dragging. His mornings were pretty busy, at lunch most days he would meet up with Gabriella for a quick lunch and then his afternoons would quiet down before he left at 6.

The restart to their relationship was definitely something different for the both of them. They'd started out with a simple set of rules, easy to follow that would eventually help them get back to where they once were, only this time, they hoped to be better.

There was no extended periods of time with each other, seeing as how Gabriella had a child to care for a well. No sleepovers had occurred within the first two years, something Troy had wanted to put in effect to help Gabriella feel comfortable with him again. And of course, no sleepovers had meant no sex as well, but that also went along with trust. They were like teenagers, at the point of wanting more, but sticking to slowly creeping around the bases with each other.

They were enjoying starting over, getting to know each other from the start again, and Gabriella was especially happy with the way Troy had quickly bonded to Kayleigh. In 4 short years, they'd become their own little unique version of a family.

Gabriella yawned as she walked in through the apartment door around 5 one evening. Although things had advanced in her relationship with Troy, they hadn't moved in together and they were still just dating, but Troy had 24/7 access to her apartment as did she his.

Hearing the silence that she was met with, Gabriella checked her watch. Confirming that it was actually 5pm, she kicked off her shoes by the door and set down her bag on the table. The lights were off and it was pretty dark, but in the distance she could hear the faint sound of voices coming from the bedroom.

She turned on the lights as she carried herself down the hall, glancing to see the mess of toys and toddler clothes that littered the hallway. When she reached the end of the hall and caught sight of her bedroom door half open, she pushed it open, adjusting her eyes back to the darkness as she noticed the flashing of the TV, casting a glow across the room.

The glow of the TV put a little bit of light in the direction of her bed, where she smiled seeing her two favorite people sprawled across the bed, sleep. Walking closer, she let her suit jacket drop to the floor and hiked up her tight skirt so she could sit cross-legged on the edge of her bed. She couldn't help staring at the two, the bigger figure resting with his head to the side, mouth open, one arm on his stomach and the other wrapped around the smaller body who was laying crooked, half on his chest and half on his arm.

Troy was snoring loudly in contrast to Kayleigh's somewhat light breathing. Gabriella reached over to stroke the dark brown tresses of the sleeping four year old, without realizing she was leaning over the other body and accidently bumping the chest of her sleeping buddy in the process.

Troy stirred, moving his hand to wipe his eyes, adjusting to his surroundings as his eyes worked to focus themselves and Gabriella's smiling face came into view.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty."

He smiled, rubbing his face again and then running the same hand through his hair before glancing to his side to look at Kayleigh and then looking beyond her to the clock on the nightstand. "Hey. How long you been in?"

"Just got in. Had to come and find you guys. How long have you been sleeping."

He yawned. "Not sure. She conked out about 3:30 and I guess sometime after that so did I."

Gabriella nodded. "It happens. Four year olds tend to wear you and themselves out."

"Mm, wished you would have warned me with that beforehand."

Gabriella scoffed, playfully, standing up. "You love it."

"Where are you going?"

She walked around the bed, carefully picking up the sleeping toddler. "Gotta put my baby to bed," she joked. "I know she's probably gonna wake up in an hour or so anyway or else she'll be up at 3am."

As she walked out, Gabriella could feel his eyes on her back, watching her until she disappeared down the hall. When she came back moments later, she catapulted herself on the bed, landing with her torso across Troy's legs.

Troy let out a loud sound, faking hurt. "My god!"

"Shut up!"

"Man, you're heavy."

"Am not!"

He nodded. "Probably all that baby weight you haven't lost."

Gabriella's mouth dropped open as Troy burst out laughing and she pinched his thigh, ceasing his laughter immediately. "I lost all my baby weight 3 years ago, thank you."

"I know, I was kidding," he said, pulling her so they were lying right next to each other. "You're beautiful."

"Mhm," she said, not meeting his eyes as she rested her hand on his chest. She huffed as he swiftly kissed her cheek and then moved his head beyond that to kiss her neck as well.

"I love you," he whispered, continuing to pepper her neck with kisses.

"Right."

"I do. I love you more than anything."

"Yeah?" She asked, turning to meet his blue eyes with her own brown. "Do you really?"

"Of course I do," he said as he pulled back to look at her as well.

"Say it again."

"Gab…"

"Just tell me again. I like hearing you say it."

Pressing a sweet kiss to her lips quickly, he gazed at her, whispering. "I love you, more than anything Gabriella. And to be quite honest, I think I always will."

"I love you too."

Before their lips could meet again, Gabriella moved her head, looking at the clock over his head while he directed his attention to her neck again.

"I think it's time for someone to go home," she whispered with a smile.

Troy answered with a groan, falling back onto the bed. "Don't make me go," he whined.

"I have to. I've got a lot of work to do and you're really distracting when you want to be."

"I promise I won't be distracting. Just feed me and I'll be perfectly obedient."

Gabriella laughed, pushing herself up off his chest. "Sorry, baby."

"Nooo!" He whined again, pulling on her waist, but she was stronger in her upright position.

"Let's go," she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him up off the bed. She walked him down the hall, picking up his shoes by the door on the way and opening the apartment door for him.

"Are you really..." Troy trailed off looking at his girlfriend in disbelief.

She nodded. "Yes, goodnight."

"But I…weren't we getting places?"

She smiled. "We are. But no sleepovers remember?"

Rolling his eyes, he gave her a quick kiss before turning to slide on his shoes and walk out the door. "Goodnight, Gabi. I'll come back over tomorrow?"

She nodded, a playful smile playing on her lips at his dejected face. "That's fine."

"Love you," he said to which she replied with an 'I love you too' and he started off down the hall. But before he could make it to the elevator, Gabriella was calling him back.

"Move in with me?" She asked almost so quietly that he didn't hear her. Troy turned abruptly, staring at her in disbelief.

"What?"

"Move in with me."

Troy quickly walked back, scanning her eyes to see if she was being serious or not. "Are you asking me?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I was the first time, but now I'm demanding you."

He smirked. "Demanding?"

She nodded, an identical smirk on her own face. "Demanding."

Letting his smile widen into a grin, Troy retraced his steps back to her and instantly picked her up, carrying her back inside the apartment, shutting the door behind him. "Of course I'll move in with you," he spoke softly to her. "You don't need to demand me, baby, I'd move in with you any day."

Giggling when he didn't let her down, Gabriella held on to his shoulders tightly as he held their bodies close. "I love you Troy Bolton."

"I love you too, Gabriella Montez."

"I'm so glad we could get past this. The past four years you have been so patient and so supportive for Kayleigh and I and I couldn't ask for a better man to be there for me. You are my everything, Bolton, don't forget that."

"Anything for you. Anything and everything. I love you."

"I love you," she answered back with a kiss. "And I think tonight would be a good night for our first sleepover."

Troy looked at her, biting her lip and staring back at him to gauge his reaction, but before she could understand what he was feeling by looking at his face, he shifting her so that he was carrying her bridal style all the way back to her bedroom.

"Next time I get to ask you to move in with me," he said as he rushed her into the room.

"Next time?" She questioned with a smile

The sound of her giggling and the slamming of the door was all that was heard after that as the two enjoyed another start over in their new glorious relationship.

* * *

**There it is! Fade Into the Background is officially finished!**

**For those of you who absolutely hated that Kayleigh was Kevin's instead of Troy's so much that you just couldnt read on, I am so terribly sorry but if you had still been reading them maybe you might have actually liked the ending. I don't know and to be honest, now I don't care (:**

**For those of you who cared enough to finish the story and stick it out to the end to find out the outcome, I hope you liked it and I want to thank you guys for sticking with me as loyal readers this entire time! I love you guys dearly.**

**I should have another chapter of Band vs. Love out later this week, I know I've been slacking on updating that but I was trying to get this out as well as deal with new adjustments in my life. I also have as you already know, many stories started and unfinished so maybe while I'm posting BvsL I'll be able to work on something else and have it posted soon too.**

**Love you guys!  
~xxTheRainWillFallxx aka Crystal**


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